YC Alum Fluently Secures $2M Seed Round for Its AI-Powered English Coaching Platform

There are many resources available for learning English, but fewer options cater to near-native speakers who wish to enhance their fluency. This need sparked the creation of Fluently by Stan Beliaev and Yurii Rebryk.

Fluently utilizes artificial intelligence to function as a personal coach, providing users with tailored feedback and insights on their spoken English. Similar to ELSA's AI speech tutor and traditional one-on-one coaching, Fluently distinguishes itself by offering feedback derived from analyzing actual phone calls.

Users can opt to record and transcribe their side of real-life conversations, such as those held over Zoom for work. Alternatively, they can practice speaking with an AI coach—choose "Ryan" for casual dialogue or "Kyle" for mock interviews. This feature is especially beneficial for foreign candidates seeking positions that require advanced English proficiency.

Beliaev and Rebryk see the potential market as significant, estimating around 84 million non-native employees in English-speaking workplaces. While it's challenging to assess how many are eager to improve their speaking skills, it undoubtedly represents a valuable and expanding niche compared to the more competitive ESL sector.

Fluently’s promising market potential helped it secure a spot in Y Combinator’s winter 2024 batch and successfully raise $2 million in seed funding before Demo Day, contributed by Pioneer Fund, SID Venture Partners, and various angel investors.

The startup benefits from its strong technical foundation, with three of its four team members being engineers. Rebryk and his university roommate have impressive credentials, including experience with major tech companies like Amazon, Google, and Nvidia, which is appealing to venture capitalists.

Despite not having formal teaching backgrounds, their personal experience as near-native speakers provides them with a unique advantage in developing a product that aligns with user needs. They recognize that fluent speakers prefer a discreet solution that only alerts them to areas requiring improvement.

Fluently aims to become the ultimate platform for enhancing speaking skills. Its focus is on promoting understandability over accent, and this encompasses refining pronunciation, grammar, tempo, and vocabulary. The team is also considering features similar to Grammarly for writing, which would offer users rephrasing suggestions.

Currently in beta, Fluently is still evolving and occasionally experiences technical issues. However, for users willing to try its free trial, the platform offers a glimpse into its potential. For example, I learned to improve my pronunciation of "computer," an essential skill in the tech industry. Some users may find its planned $25 monthly subscription worthwhile.

Fluently could benefit from implementing gamification features, similar to those used by Duolingo, to assist users in tracking their progress and correcting mistakes. This strategy often helps maintain motivation, which can fluctuate during the language-learning process. The platform, however, intends to leverage technology to pinpoint and address specific user challenges on the journey from near fluency to proficiency.

Concerns around personalization often stem from privacy issues, particularly for an app that operates in the background and accesses the microphone. To address these concerns, Fluently assures users during onboarding that their privacy is a priority, with locally stored audio, encryption, and protection against third-party access. The startup also emphasizes that data sent for transcription is anonymized and not used for AI training.

The advent of Apple Silicon has enabled some of these capabilities, Rebryk noted. Currently, Fluently is only compatible with MacOS, but the team is developing a waiting list for users interested in a forthcoming Chrome extension.

With these developments in mind, the seed funding will allow Fluently to expand its team and allocate resources for future marketing efforts. "With a small team, we must prioritize our tasks," Rebryk remarked with a smile.