Speak reaches unicorn status for AI language tutoring, but offering lags behind Duolingo

The news: Speak, an AI-powered language learning app, is raising more funds to compete with Duolingo.

• The startup, which currently only offers English and Spanish, uses OpenAI’s speech-recognition API to allow conversations between the app and user, as well as an AI Tutor feature that’s built on GPT-4.
• With its new $78 million in funding, Speak has reached unicorn status.

How it works: Speak’s curriculum has users start by immediately hearing and speaking a language. Then it gives feedback, drills users with common phrases, and offers real-life situations to practice the language in.

Speak CEO Connor Zwick said that understanding a language’s vocabulary and grammar doesn’t always equate to being able to speak it and that Speak’s value proposition is based on letting users communicate with the AI.

Unlike Duolingo, Speak doesn’t have a free tier.

• The service costs $19.99 per month and is available through a mobile app on Android and iOS.
• That’s less expensive than Duolingo’s AI-powered tier, which is $26.98 per month.

Engagement strategies: One area Speak hasn’t moved into—but Duolingo has capitalized on—is gamification within learning.

• Duolingo’s app streaks and daily challenges pull users to the app consistently, boosting engagement while positively motivating learners.
• Speak is still developing its platform and curriculum and isn’t yet considering gaming functions or loyalty features for its app.
• “When there’s a tug of war between gamification and engagement and efficacy, we will pick efficacy 100% of the time,” Zwick said, per TechCrunch.

The decision to prioritize efficacy over gamification could limit Speak’s ability to sustain user interest.

Our take: Launching Speak with AI integrations gives it an advantage over Duolingo, which had to develop AI tools and scale them after establishing its platform.

The startup’s developing technology could become a target for acquisition from OpenAI as a complement to its Whisper AI audio tool.

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