With $700,000 in new funding, Verbatica aims to launch its AI-enhanced language learning platform across the Middle East and North Africa by August.
The UAE-based startup Verbatica has secured $700,000 in angel investments to develop a next-generation educational platform for learning English and Arabic. The funding will be used to help the company penetrate the Middle East and North African markets and prepare for a subsequent funding round in November 2024.
Plans include expanding the product to Indonesia and eventually throughout Asia. In the upcoming November funding round, Verbatica aims to raise an additional $2 million.
Verbatica, cofounded by Nikita Savilov, an MGIMO graduate with over a decade of experience at Skyeng, and Nikolay Morozov, integrates the insights of more than a hundred active teachers and uses adaptive artificial intelligence to enhance language learning. The platform allows users to learn independently or with a teacher, consolidating all educational materials on one platform, including dictionaries and flashcards.
A distinctive feature of Verbatica is its Language Quotient (LQ), which assesses language proficiency across five aspects: reading, listening, writing, speaking, and cultural features. This includes deep immersion in the language’s culture through books, movies, customs, history, slang, and social media trends, providing users with a comprehensive understanding of the language in context.
Demo testing for the platform is scheduled to start on 15 August. An official launch is planned for the end of August, just in time for the academic year.
Nikita Savilov, Verbatica’s CEO, cited the UAE’s diverse population and high demand for language learning as key factors for launching the project there. Savilov noted that Russians were among the top three property buyers in the UAE in the first half of 2024, underscoring the demand for learning English and Arabic for career growth and social adaptation.
