SpeakIn Communications Pvt Ltd, which operates a multi-lingual business learning platform, has raised funding from former KPMG India chief executive officer Richard Rekhy.
Delhi-based SpeakIn – set up by Deepshikha Kumar in 2016 – says it is focussed on connecting businesses and individuals with industry experts and thought leaders.
The company says its platform has over 15,000 experts across Asia in areas such as sales, management, personal development, and motivation.
Its content is currently available in five languages, with the company looking to expand to more. It will use the capital to increase this number, as well as to build more content and expand into newer geographies.
The deal sum was not disclosed.
SpeakIn says its user base will also grow to nearly a million within the next six months. “Our research shows that leaders are desperately seeking e-learning tools to motivate the workforce, cross-skill top performers and to generally re-engage the employee base which has been deeply fragmented due to Covid-19,” Kumar said.
According to her LinkedIn profile, the SpeakIn founder is an alumnus of the Indian School of Business and The Wharton School, and has worked with firms including JD Power and EY.
SpeakIn says its content is available via three formats – e-learning through audio and visual content under its SpeakIn Master Class module, live virtual sessions under SpeakIn Webinars, and in-person programmes for large groups or one-on-one consultations.
The company says it is aiming to compete with the likes of LinkedIn Learning, Udemy, and Coursera. Experts who have already held sessions on its platform include television presenter and businessman Bear Grylls, Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus, and Bollywood actor Richa Chadha.
SpeakIn is among a handful of startups operating in the mentorship, networking and leadership skills development space that have raised funding in recent months.
In April, for example, Sequoia India accelerator Surge led a $2 million (around Rs 15.21 crore) funding round in Tigerhall Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based networking and mentorship startup.
