VI Group, SIG lead $15m round for Vietnam's Elsa

Gradient Ventures, a VC unit of Google focused on artificial intelligence (AI), also participated, as did Singapore-based Monk’s Hill Ventures and US investors SOSV and Endeavor Catalyst. They were joined by Argentina’s Globant Ventures, which will facilitate an ongoing expansion in Latin America.

It follows a $7 million Series A in 2019 led by Gradient with participation from Monk’s Hill and SOSV and brings total funding to date to at least $27 million. The fresh capital will go towards voice recognition AI development, scaling a B2B platform strategy, and hiring new AI, research, and engineering talent. VI Group and SIG will nominate representatives to the board.

Elsa, which stands for English language speech assistant, operates a mobile app that uses AI and speech recognition technology to help students improve pronunciation. The app listens to the way users pronounce words, sentences or conversations to pinpoint exact errors. It provides real-time feedback on pronunciation mistakes with specific suggestions on how to improve.

Elsa claims to have nearly doubled its customer base during 2020, increasing revenue by about 300% while introducing a number of product enhancements. The company described its growth in Latin America as exponential and said its Japan business grew 5x during 2020. Other recent traction includes a pilot B2B program with schools and companies in Vietnam and India.

“The most difficult step in achieving proficiency in a language is speaking. Elsa applies patented algorithms to the collective data from its users through a user-friendly interface to facilitate consistent improvement,” David Do, a managing partner at VI Group, said in a statement.

“VI Group has invested in K-12, early childhood, enrichment, and vocational education in Vietnam. We look forward to working with the Elsa management team to broadly distribute its app in Vietnam and international markets.”

VI Group, also known as Vietnam Investments Group or VIG, closed its third fund at $252 million in 2015 with a sector and stage-agnostic mandate. Its previous education sector investments include Wellspring, a bilingual school with locations in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, the American Academy of Vietnam, and Sylvan Learning, a US-branded school chain expanding its footprint in the country.

SIG, also known as Susquehanna International Group, has backed more than 200 Asian companies in the past 10 years across technology, media, consumer services, and healthcare. Education investments regionally include China’s Yunxuetang and Eeo Education, both of which have received funding in recent weeks.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Consumer
• Early-stage
• Vietnam
• VI Group
• SIG
• Google
• Monk's Hill Ventures
• Education
• artificial intelligence