SpeakX raises $16 million from WestBridge, others

SpeakX, a Generative AI-powered English learning platform has raised $16 million in a Pre-Series B funding round led by WestBridge Capital.

The round also saw participation from Elevation Capital and Goodwater Capital, along with angels Ronnie Screwvala of upgrad and Shyamal Anadkat of OpenAI.

The startup plans to use the funds to strengthen its AI technology, grow its team, and add support for regional languages like Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, and Bengali within the next year. At present, about 70% of its learners are Hindi speakers.

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SpeakX, formerly known as Yellow Class — a platform backed by Elevation Capital and India Quotient that focused on children’s extracurricular activities — pivoted in January last year after a post-Covid slowdown. The Gurugram-based startup now uses generative AI to provide spoken English tutoring.

The latest funding round values SpeakX at $66 million post-money, a significant rise from its previous $25 million valuation when it raised $6 million as Yellow Class in 2021.

Sandeep Singhal, Managing Partner, WestBridge Capital, said, “Language proficiency remains a key driver of economic mobility. SpeakX.ai’s AI-native platform is enabling millions to overcome communication barriers at scale.”

Manish Advani, Principal, Elevation Capital, added, “SpeakX is at the forefront of applying AI to learning, empowering users with the confidence to speak, connect and advance in their careers.”

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“After the pivot, raising capital seemed very far-fetched because we had zero revenue. We had to start the entire journey from scratch. Our first goal was to make the company profitable, as there was no clarity on when funding would come or how to manage the business with the burn,” founder and CEO Arpit Mittal said.

“This space looks crowded because before gen AI, language learning relied on human tutors costing at least Rs 500-1,000 an hour, making it unaffordable in India and other developing markets. With gen AI, this problem finally has an accessible solution, which is why you are seeing a lot of movement in the language learning space,” he said.

About SpeakX.ai

Founded by Arpit Mittal, SpeakX.ai provides an AI-powered tutor that mimics real-life conversations — from job interviews to workplace discussions — offering real-time feedback, adaptive difficulty levels, and translation support. 

The platform has surpassed 1 million monthly learners and 200000 paying subscribers with an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $7.5 million. Impressively, it has been EBITDA-positive since April 2025, earned $150,000 in monthly profits and $1 million in cumulative EBITDA over the past five months.

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