BoldVoice, an AI voice coaching platform for non-native English speakers, has raised $21 million in Series A funding led by Matrix. Flybridge, Xfund, Corazon Capital, Alumni Ventures, Umami Capital, and Y Combinator also participated in the round. The funding arrives as the company crosses $10 million in annual recurring revenue with just seven employees.

The platform has already surpassed five million downloads and serves professionals in more than 150 countries. The new capital will accelerate global expansion and fund the development of advanced AI coaching capabilities and proprietary speech recognition models designed specifically for accented speech.

Why Pronunciation Still Matters in the Global Economy

An estimated 70 to 75 percent of English speakers worldwide are non-native. English has become the universal language of business. Professionals increasingly depend on it for meetings, presentations, and client interactions across regions and time zones.

Yet for more than one billion non-native English speakers, pronunciation and clarity can directly affect career outcomes. Research shows that speakers with foreign accents are less likely to be promoted. It’s a persistent barrier that remains largely unaddressed in professional development.

Real-Time Feedback Powered by Custom Speech Models

BoldVoice helps users improve speech clarity and confidence through a combination of AI-driven feedback and expert instruction. Users record their voice and receive instant, phoneme-level analysis from proprietary speech models trained specifically for accent and pronunciation detection. The platform pairs this technology with video lessons from professional voice and accent coaches, enabling daily practice and measurable progress.

“AI has transformed how we write, but spoken communication — where teams actually build trust and close deals — has been left behind. We’re fixing that,” said Anada Lakra, co-founder and CEO of BoldVoice. “We’re giving a billion non-native English speakers a personal voice coach.”

Ilya Usorov, co-founder and CTO, explained the technical challenge. “Speech feedback only works if it is extremely precise. General speech recognition systems aren’t designed to hear the nuances of accented speech. At BoldVoice, we’re building the ears on the machine with AI models trained specifically for accent and pronunciation analysis, so we can deliver precise and actionable feedback in real time.”

Making Professional Coaching Accessible at Scale

Traditional speech and accent coaching typically costs between $200 and $300 per hour and requires scheduling with limited availability. BoldVoice offers unlimited, on-demand practice for less than the cost of a single coaching session over an entire year. The pricing structure makes high-quality speaking improvement accessible globally, particularly in markets where professional coaching has been financially out of reach.

The platform’s approach addresses both accessibility and scalability. Users can practice anytime, receive immediate feedback, and track improvement over time without waiting for scheduled appointments or paying hourly rates.

Who’s Behind the Platform

Anada Lakra and Ilya Usorov founded BoldVoice after experiencing communication challenges as non-native English speakers themselves. The company has scaled to $10 million in ARR with a team of just seven employees, demonstrating both the strength of its AI-native product and the depth of market demand for accessible pronunciation coaching.

BoldVoice is currently hiring across growth, product, and engineering roles. The app is available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Investor Confidence in a New Category

Matrix led the Series A round with participation from Flybridge, Xfund, Corazon Capital, Alumni Ventures, Umami Capital, and Y Combinator. The investor group sees BoldVoice as defining a new category in professional communication tools.

“There are millions of non-native English speakers whose careers are held back by something coachable—and BoldVoice has built the AI to coach it at scale,” said Kojo Osei, Partner at Matrix. “They’re defining a new category in professional communication and we’re excited to support their growth.”

Matrix has previously backed industry-defining companies including Apple, FedEx, Canva, and Oculus. The firm focuses on early-stage investments from idea through Series A, partnering with companies that combine deep technical expertise with a clear vision.

Origianl Creator: Ekaterina Pisareva
Original Link: https://justainews.com/applications/voice-and-speech-recognition/boldvoice-raises-21m-to-coach-non-native-english-speakers/
Originally Posted: Thu, 29 Jan 2026 10:44:29 +0000