Vietnamese founded English learning startup secures $23 mln funding

Elsa (English Learning Speaking Assistant), a Silicon Valley-based startup founded by Vietnamese language and education expert Van Dinh Hong Vu, has raised $23 million in Series C funding.

Vu is also the developer of artificial intelligence (AI) powered app Elsa Speak, which has so far provided 1.5 billion exercises to over 34 million users in 195 countries, with support available in 10 languages.

The startup announced Wednesday that the funding round was led by UOB Venture Management, joined by UniPresident, and Asia Growth Investment Fund, which is a joint business of Aozora Bank and Development Bank of Japan (DBJ).

The participants also included previous investors Gradient Ventures, Google’s AI-focused venture fund; Monk’s Hill Ventures; Globant Ventures; and Vietnam Investments Group (VIG).

Elsa says it has already been at the forefront of the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution with its platform for English learning and is the leading platform in phonetic fluency and pronunciation.

Thanks to the platform’s speech recognition technology, it has been able to provide in-depth and accurate English fluency analysis and feedback to ensure progress.

The latest funding will help fuel the launch and expansion of the Elsa Speak app into international markets including Taiwan, South Korea as well as the Middle East, and accelerate partnerships with corporations and schools in countries like Japan where English learners are looking to improve their language skills to access global job opportunities.

The education-technology (edtech) startup had raised $3.2 million in a pre-Series A funding in 2018, $7 million in its Series A round in 2019, and $15 million in a Series B funding in 2021.