Speak is an AI-powered language learning app whose stated goal is getting learners to actually speak a new language, not just study it. Developed by San Francisco-based Speakeasy Labs, it organizes its curriculum around real conversations: learners practice out loud with an AI speaking coach and receive real-time feedback on pronunciation and phrasing. The company was an early public investment of the OpenAI Startup Fund and maintains a technology partnership with OpenAI, making it one of the more prominent products in the AI language learning category.
At a Glance
- URL: https://www.speak.com
- Type: AI language learning app (mobile-first; the website handles signup and subscription management)
- Cost: 7-day free trial, then a paid subscription (Premium or Premium Plus; pricing varies by region and is shown in the app)
- Account: Required (email or social sign-in); a payment method is needed to start the trial
- Interface languages: The website and app support Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and more; the help center is available in 16 languages
- Platforms: iOS (16+) and Android (8+) apps; no desktop learning experience
Background
Speak was founded in 2016 by Connor Zwick and Andrew Hsu. According to TechCrunch, Zwick dropped out of Harvard and previously sold his flashcard app Flashcards+ to Chegg in 2013, while Hsu holds a neuroscience PhD from Stanford; both were Thiel Fellows. The product launched first in South Korea in 2019 before expanding to Japan, Taiwan, the United States, and other markets.
On funding, Speak raised a $27 million Series B led by the OpenAI Startup Fund in November 2022, followed by a $16 million Series B-2 in August 2023 and a 500 million valuation. In December 2024 it announced a 1 billion valuation led by Accel, with the OpenAI Startup Fund, Khosla Ventures, and Y Combinator participating, bringing total funding to $162 million.
The company describes a formal partnership with OpenAI: OpenAI's models support its conversation practice, real-time feedback, and personalized lesson generation. As of 2026-10-02, the December 2024 Series C remains the most recent publicly verifiable round.
In terms of scale, the English homepage cites more than 15 million downloads and a 4.8-star rating across the App Store and Google Play (as of 2026-10-02). The company's 2025 year-in-review says learners spoke 3.74 billion lines and started 231 million lessons during 2025.
How It Teaches: the Speak Method
Courses are structured around a proprietary three-step loop the company calls the Speak Method:
- Learn — each lesson teaches phrases and patterns native speakers actually use, rather than textbook sentences or grammar drills;
- Practice — learners repeat those patterns across new situations until they become automatic;
- Apply — learners hold a real back-and-forth conversation with the Speak Tutor AI, get feedback on what matters, and can retry as many times as they need.
Around this loop, the app offers (per the official site and help center):
- Speak Tutor: open-ended AI conversation practice that can generate custom lessons around a topic, situation, or goal;
- Real-time pronunciation and phrasing feedback: the app comments on how natural you sound, not just whether the answer was correct; the dedicated Pronunciation Coach is currently available only for English learners;
- Situational roleplays and Free Talk: everyday scenarios such as ordering food or introducing yourself; the December 2025 winter release turned roleplays into audio-driven, two-way conversations;
- Personalized review: Smart Review and Made for You lessons generated from each learner's mistakes;
- Speak Level: a speaking assessment introduced in December 2025, initially for English learners in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, with a full rollout planned for 2026.
The company says all lessons are written by a team of learning designers — educators, linguists, and translators — and that AI speeds up the workflow while humans review every lesson before release.
Courses and Language Support
According to the help center article updated in July 2026, courses run in two directions:
- Learning English, for speakers of 15 native languages: Korean, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Vietnamese, Hindi, Thai, Turkish, and Indonesian;
- Learning another language as an English speaker: Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, Italian, and Simplified Chinese (Mandarin). The Japanese, Korean, and Italian courses are still in beta with beginner-level content only; the Mandarin course launched in June 2026 with beginner and intermediate units emphasizing tones and real-life scenarios.
Non-English courses are currently available only to native English speakers. For Chinese-speaking users, Speak is therefore primarily a way to learn English through a Simplified or Traditional Chinese interface — its Chinese site (speak.com/cn) is positioned accordingly.
The learning experience lives in the iOS and Android apps (phones and tablets, up to three devices per account). The help center states explicitly that Speak is not available on desktop; the website and web app (app.speak.com) handle signup, trial activation, and subscription management.
Pricing and Free Trial
Speak offers a 7-day free trial: create an account, pick a plan, and add a payment method to unlock the full feature set; nothing is charged at signup, but the subscription auto-renews unless cancelled at least one day before the trial ends. Continued use after the trial requires a paid subscription.
Two paid tiers are offered (per the help center comparison updated in November 2025):
| Feature | Premium | Premium Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Full curriculum, roleplays, Smart Review, Pronunciation Coach | ✅ | ✅ |
| Made for You custom lessons | Up to 3/day | Unlimited |
| Speak Tutor personalized lessons | Daily limit | Unlimited |
| Personalized study plan and mistake targeting | ❌ | ✅ |
Speak does not publish subscription prices on its website, stating that pricing varies by plan, region, and promotions and is most accurate in the app. Public reference points: the gift subscription on speak.com is priced at 20 per month or $99 per year at that time, which may have changed since. Subscriptions carry no lock-in and are managed through the App Store, Google Play, or the web channel where they were purchased.
A business tier, Speak for Business, adds workplace-focused courses and an admin portal; the company reported more than 200 enterprise customers as of December 2024.
Who It's For
- Learners who studied English for years but freeze when speaking, and want low-pressure practice without a human counterpart;
- Self-directed learners who want immediate feedback on pronunciation and natural phrasing;
- English speakers learning Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, Italian, or Mandarin (with the caveat that some courses are beginner-only);
- Companies rolling out English training for employees.
Limitations
- Mobile-first: there is no desktop learning experience; the web presence only covers signup and account management, which may frustrate learners who prefer a computer;
- Limited course catalog: only six non-English target languages, all gated to native English speakers, with Japanese, Korean, and Italian still in beta at beginner level; non-English speakers can currently only learn English;
- Little free access: the 7-day trial requires a payment method and auto-renews if not cancelled in time; there is no documented free tier after the trial;
- Opaque pricing: exact prices appear only inside the app and differ by region;
- Feature availability varies by language: Pronunciation Coach is English-only, and Speak Level was still limited to select markets' English courses as of late 2025.
References
- Speak website and Simplified Chinese site
- Speak Help Center: free trial, supported languages, device support, Premium vs. Premium Plus
- Official blog: Series B announcement (Nov 2022), Series C announcement (Dec 2024), Speak Wrapped 2025, Mandarin course launch (Jun 2026)
- TechCrunch: Nov 2022, Aug 2023, Jun 2024, Dec 2024
