London-based AI startup Praktika has netted £28 million in funding from one of the capital’s leading investors to bring virtual private tutors, generated by AI, to language learning.
Ophelia Brown, who is known for backing London’s largest fintech Checkout.com, has teamed up with former Manchester United and France captain Patrice Evra to invest in the language app that is already helping millions of users to learn English with virtual private tutors.
Praktika's founders first started developing AI-generated language tutors for the likes of AstraZeneca and Coca-Cola, helping executives master English for business purposes.
The startup language platform is looking to challenge giants like Duolingo and has 1.2m users in 100 countries, just months after launching.
Praktika’s interactive AI avatars have different accents to reflect the student’s and the more learners interact with their avatar tutor the more personalised their lessons become."No one should be held back by their struggles to master a language," said Praktika co-founder Adam Turaev.
London is vying with Paris for the title of AI capital of Europe, with startups in both cities attracting attention from global venture capital investors keen to invest early in European AI companies that are applying generative AI technology. Kings Cross, where Google’s DeepMind is based, is considered one of Europe’s hottest clusters for AI talent.
Ophelia Brown, managing partner at Blossom Capital, said: “For too long, other learning apps have taken students for granted and shortchanged them. The team’s determination to build a global challenger has translated into one of the fastest-growing early-stage consumer AI companies globally.”
