Stimuler Raises $3.75 Million to Revolutionize English Learning with AI-Powered Voice Tutor

Voice-first AI tutor Stimuler raises $3.75 million from Lightspeed, SWC Global

MVP, Rebright, Force Ventures, and GradCapital participated in the funding round. The funds will be used to scale Stimuler's in-house AI infrastructure, expand its technical team, and boost user acquisition.Stimuler, a voice-first artificial intelligence (AI) tutor for English-as-a-second-language (ESL) users, has raised $3.75 million in a funding round from global venture capital firms Lightspeed and SWC Global. The round also saw participation from other investors, including MVP, Rebright, Force Ventures, and GradCapital. The funds will be used to scale its in-house AI infrastructure, grow its technical team, and accelerate user acquisition. "It's one of those markets that is fundamentally changing with the development of AI. Over a billion people around the world are learning English in some form. So, we believe the market is truly massive for us," chief executive Akshay Akash told ET. Founded in 2022, the Bengaluru-based startup offers a platform where users can practice English, receiving real-time feedback on fluency, pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar, along with exercises aimed at improving language skills. It currently has four million app installs and has over 45,000 paying users. According to Akash, its monthly active user base currently stands at between 500,000 and 600,000. "India is our third-largest market. First is Latin America -- including countries like Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Costa Rica -- followed by Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, and then India. We are also experimenting in other regions," said Akash, noting that Latin America accounts for 40% of the company's revenue. The platform is targeting a more than fivefold increase in monetisation over the next 12 to 18 months. "We saw around 25x revenue growth last year and expect another 8 to 10x this year. But those are secondary targets. Our primary focus, given how early we are, is to build the core team, establish AI capabilities, and set up distribution channels so we're prepared to scale further from there," Akash added. Commenting on the investment, Harsha Kumar, partner, Lightspeed, said, "Stimuler is solving a universal need - making spoken English proficiency more accessible with sharp execution and deep product insight. As voice AI transforms learning, I believe Stimuler has built a platform to lead the category for the next billion users." "Consumer AI is an interesting category globally for us, and the team at Stimuler has built a global-ready product which is seeing a strong user engagement," said Tuck Lye Koh, founding partner at SWC Global.

Stimuler Bags $3.75 Mn To Strengthen Its AI-Led English Tutor

Stimuler offers a voice-first AI tutor to help speakers improve their English speaking skills, and claims to have users in more than 150 countries AI-powered edtech platform Stimuler has raised $3.75 Mn (around INR 31.9 Cr) in its pre-Series A round led by Lightspeed and Singapore-based SWC Global. The round also saw participation from MVP, Rebright Partners, Force Ventures, gradCapital and Operators Studio. Stimuler plans to use the fresh capital to boost its in-house AI infrastructure, expand its tech team, and bolster distribution. Founded in 2022 by Akshay Akash, Akshat Baranwal, Ankit Kumar Pandey, and Anesh Srivastav, Stimuler offers a voice-first AI tutor to help speakers improve their English speaking skills. The startup claims to have users in more than 150 countries, predominantly in Latin America, Southeast Asia and India. Speaking with Inc42, Akash said that speakers can chat with Stimuler's in-house AI bot Sara to get feedback on pronunciation, vocabulary, fluency and other aspects of speech. The cofounder added that the platform is designed for people who have a working knowledge of English and are looking to further enhance their skills in the language. Stimuler claims to have over 4 Mn app downloads across Android and iOS, with more than 45,000 paid users. While some features of Stimuler's app are free to use, others need a subscription. Going forward, the Bengaluru-based startup plans to use a part of the capital to expand its reach in Latin America and Southeast Asia. "Priority markets for us are Latin America, followed by Indonesia and India. So, the idea is to scale distribution capabilities in these regions," added Akash. The startup is also looking to expand its tutoring service beyond English to other predominant languages in the next few years. However, there are no immediate plans for it. "As of the next couple of years, the focus is primarily English and then we can explore other languages at some levels," asserted Akash. Stimuler competes against the likes of Speak.com and Praktika in the international market. The GenAI Facelift For Edtech Stimuler's fundraise comes at a time when the Indian edtech space, despite being marred by the funding winter for the past couple of years, has been witnessing a rebound, of sorts, on the back of GenAI. The likes of PhysicsWallah, upGrad and Unacademy are leveraging the emerging tech to build personalised curriculum and tailored content recommendations, supporting educators in developing teaching strategies and chatbots to answer queries of students. New-age tech companies are also emerging on the edtech scene with products that help automate grading systems, handle grievances, and swiftly resolve user queries. Just last month, AI-driven upskilling platform WeSkill secured an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed funding round from a clutch of high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and strategic investors at a valuation of INR 40 Cr. In March, AI-powered admissions startup Ambitio also raised $2 Mn in its seed funding round led by BLinC Invest. Notably, more than 200 GenAI startups call India home and have raised more than $1.2 Bn in funding since 2020. As per Inc42 data, the homegrown GenAI market is projected to become a $17 Bn opportunity by 2030.

Stimuler Raised $3.75M from Lightspeed, SWC Global to Transform English Learning with AI

Other investors including MVP, Rebright, Force Ventures, GradCapital and Operators Studio also participated in this round Funding will scale Stimuler's AI capabilities, expand the technical team, and drive growth in global markets Stimuler, a voice-first AI tutor for English-as-a-second-language (ESL) users has raised $3.75 million in Pre-Series A funding from Lightspeed, SWC Global, and other investors including MVP, Rebright, Force Ventures, GradCapital, and Operators Studio. The funds will be used to scale Stimuler's in-house AI infrastructure, grow its technical team, and accelerate user acquisition aiming to increase monetization by over 5X in the next 12-18 months and become the #1 education app in LATAM and Southeast Asia (SEA). Built in India for the world, Stimuler is reimagining how English learners practice and perfect their speaking skills through advanced voice AI technology. With over 4Million app installs, a fivefold increase in the past year, and over 45,000 paying users across Android and iOS, the platform is rapidly gaining traction across global emerging markets. The majority of its paying user base today comes from outside India, with strong adoption in Latin America (LATAM) and Southeast Asia (SEA), particularly Indonesia. With this funding round, Stimuler is poised to redefine how people learn, practice & gain proficiency in English across geographies, empowering more and more users to unlock new personal and professional opportunities. On the successful fundraise, Akshay Akash, CEO of Stimuler said, "At Stimuler, our goal is simple, to make fluent English speaking accessible to people worldwide. This funding allows us to deepen our investment in AI infrastructure, expand our reach across LATAM and SEA, and move closer to becoming the #1 education app in these key markets. We believe our India-to-the-world and voice-first approach positions us uniquely to address the unmet needs of a billion English learners." Harsha Kumar, Partner, Lightspeed said, "Stimuler is solving a universal need - making spoken English proficiency more accessible with sharp execution and deep product insight. Akshay and his team are building a truly global company from India, with early traction across LATAM and SEA geographies validating both the opportunity as well as the approach. As voice AI transforms learning, I believe Stimuler has built a platform to lead the category for the next billion users. We are excited to back their journey." Tuck Lye Koh, founding partner at SWC Global said - "Consumer AI is an interesting category globally for us and the team at Stimuler has built a global-ready product which is seeing a strong user engagement. We are looking forward to our partnership with Akshay and team to build Stimuler into a leading Spoken English platform globally". Stimuler's voice-first AI technology provides users with real-time, comprehensive feedback on fluency, pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar, combined with tailored exercises to drive objective improvement. The company operates with a lean team and has already attracted early paying users from over 175 countries. Its innovative approach was recognized with the Google Play Best App with AI award in 2023. About Stimuler: Stimuler is a voice-first AI tutor designed to help English-as-a-second-language users improve their speaking skills. Built in India for the world, the platform has paying users across 150+ countries, with strong traction in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and India. Leveraging advanced speech analysis and AI-driven learning, Stimuler is transforming how people learn and practice spoken English. For more information, visit www.stimuler.ai About Lightspeed: Lightspeed is a global multi-stage venture capital firm focused on accelerating disruptive innovations and trends in the Enterprise, Consumer, Health, and Fintech sectors. Over the past two decades, the Lightspeed team has backed hundreds of entrepreneurs and helped build more than 500 companies globally including Affirm, Acceldata, Carta, Cato Networks, Darwinbox, Epic Games, Faire, Innovaccer, Guardant Health, Mulesoft, Navan, Netskope, Nutanix, Physics Wallah, Razorpay, Rubrik, Sharechat, Snap, OYO Rooms, Ultima Genomics, Zepto and more. Lightspeed and its global team currently manage $25B in AUM across the Lightspeed platform, with investment professionals and advisors in the U.S., Europe, India, Israel, and Southeast Asia. For more information, visit: www.lsip.com