SpeakX.ai raises $16 million led by WestBridge as AI-led edtech gains traction

SpeakX.ai raises $16 million led by WestBridge as AI-led edtech gains traction

AI-powered English learning startup SpeakX.ai has raised $16 million (around Rs 142 crore) in a funding round led by WestBridge Capital, with participation from Goodwater Capital and existing investor Elevation Capital. The round also saw backing from noted angels including Shyamal Anadkat of OpenAI and Ronnie Screwvala of upGrad.

The round marks the company’s first fundraise since it pivoted in 2023 from YellowClass, a children’s learning platform launched during the pandemic, to a new model centred on AI-driven spoken English learning.

In an exclusive interaction with Moneycontrol, founder and CEO Arpit Mittal said the fresh capital will be used to strengthen SpeakX’s AI stack, expand into regional markets, and scale sustainably.

“WestBridge came in because we’ve demonstrated that a digital, AI-first company can be built and scaled profitably,” Mittal said. “It’s a large market, and we’ve already established leadership in it.”

The fundraise comes at a time when edtech funding in India is seeing a resurgence, driven by AI-led models. Startups such as Arivihan, SigIQ.ai, and Ambitio have also raised recent rounds as investors warm up again to technology-first education ventures.

Why is this funding significant for Indian edtech?

SpeakX’s fundraise comes at a time when the Indian edtech sector, once a pandemic darling, is cautiously recovering from two years of slowdown. Between 2021 and 2023, funding in the space plunged over two-thirds, forcing many players to restructure or shut down.

Against that backdrop, SpeakX stands out as one of the few post-pandemic survivors to reach profitability. The company, as per Mittal, currently clocks Rs 5 crore in monthly revenue and Rs 1.5 crore in profit, with more than 200,000 active paying subscribers and a total user base of over 10 million.

“Within this financial year alone, we’ve crossed Rs 10 crore in profit,” Mittal said. “Profitability gives us the ability to plan long-term and invest deeply in product.”

How did SpeakX evolve from YellowClass?

SpeakX’s roots go back to YellowClass, founded in 2020 to offer online hobby classes for children during lockdowns. The concept scaled quickly, hitting two million monthly users within a year, but engagement dropped once schools reopened.

By early 2023, Mittal decided to rethink the business. “We had Rs 15 crore left in the bank, a large team, and a product that had lost relevance,” he said. “Spoken English, on the other hand, was a huge unmet need — and AI made it possible to solve at scale.”

He shut down YellowClass, reduced the team from 200 to 20, and rebuilt from scratch. “Everyone had written us off,” Mittal said. “But I knew this was a real problem, and we had the right timing, the right people, and the right tech to solve it.”

By late 2024, SpeakX had broken even; a year later, it was profitable — an uncommon feat in an edtech market still recovering from the post-pandemic slump.

What’s driving investor confidence?

The WestBridge-Goodwater-Elevation round reflects a broader shift in investor priorities: from high-burn models to profitable, product-led businesses, said Mittal.

“SpeakX’s AI-native platform is opening new pathways for millions of learners to overcome barriers with speed and scale. We are pleased to back their mission and expand their impact across India,” Sandeep Singhal, Managing Partner at WestBridge Capital.

Manish Advani, Principal at Elevation Capital, added: “At the forefront of applying AI to learning, SpeakX is empowering users with the confidence to speak, connect, and advance in their careers. We are excited to deepen our partnership with Arpit and his team as they scale the platform.”

According to Mittal, around 80 percent of the new capital will go towards enhancing SpeakX’s AI and speech-recognition technology, with the rest allocated for regional language expansion. The company currently serves mostly Hindi-speaking users but plans to launch in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Marathi next.

What makes SpeakX different from other learning platforms?

SpeakX uses generative AI to help users improve spoken English through simulated one-on-one conversations and instant feedback on pronunciation, fluency, and tone. The company initially used OpenAI’s enterprise API but now works with Google Gemini for faster, more responsive learning experiences.

Mittal said SpeakX’s strength lies in cost-efficient personalization — critical for Indian consumers. “Our systems are tuned to deliver a highly personalized AI experience at very low cost,” he said.

The platform operates on a subscription model, priced for mass-market adoption. “We’re not an English teaching app,” Mittal added. “We only focus on helping users learn to speak with confidence.”

What’s next for SpeakX?

With profitability achieved, the company is targeting Rs 100 crore (~$12 million) in annual EBITDA by 2026 and aims to build a $300–400 million business in India alone within the next 2–3 years.

Mittal said the focus will remain on product evolution before large-scale growth. “India itself is a massive opportunity. Once we deepen penetration here, expansion beyond India will happen naturally,” he said.

SpeakX’s trajectory mirrors the broader reset of India’s edtech ecosystem — from the exuberance of 2020 to the correction of 2022, and now to a phase defined by profitability, efficiency, and technology-led growth.