English tutoring startup Ringle accelerates service diversification

SILICON VALLEY – Ringle English Education Service, a South Korean startup operating a one-on-one English tutoring platform, is actively seeking to diversify its revenue sources with a new junior service and an artificial intelligence-powered sector-specific program set for release next year.

“We are currently developing an AI-powered diagnostics system that can evaluate the level of professional English skills based on the communication needs of different businesses,” Lee Seunghun, co-chief executive officer of Ringle English, said during a recent interview with The Korea Economic Daily in the startup’s US office in San Mateo, California.

“We plan to roll out its testing version within the next two to three months with an aim to launch its official service next year.”

The new service will offer different English tutoring programs for professionals tailored to their sectors.

For example, a trading company’s employees need to develop specific English skills for sales, while a semiconductor company’s engineers and workers should know high-level English terminology and expressions primarily used in the chip sector.

“Our corporate clients have constantly demanded such a service,” said Lee. “Co-CEO Lee Sungpah is leading its development.”

DIVERSE REVENUE SOURCES

Founded in 2015, Ringle English offers English courses mainly for adults such as business English and interview preparation taught by mostly undergrad tutors from the US' top 20 universities.  

With the upcoming professional English program targeting different businesses, the Korean startup is expected to expedite its business portfolio diversification.  

In June, it released another new program for school-age users, Ringle Teens, as part of its efforts to diversify its revenue sources.

The company was able to roll out Ringle Teens after the Korean government amended the country’s law on the establishment and management of private tutoring businesses to allow foreign native-speaking undergrad students to teach Korean elementary, junior high and high school students foreign languages.

Before the change, only those who already had their college degrees were allowed to teach.

“Thanks to the latest business expansion, we can grow our client base,” said Lee. “We expect to earn 20 billion won in revenue this year.”

SERIES B FUNDING IN 2024

The Korean startup has raised 24 billion won ($18 million) in total from funding, including a Series A round in 2021, Lee added.

Must Asset Management, One Asset Management, MoCA Ventures and Xolon Invest are its backers. They are all Korean investors, according to The VC, a Korean startup tracker.

Ringle English is expected to tap Series B funding next year, said the co-CEO.

Lee founded Ringle English with co-CEO Lee Sungpah. They met at Stanford University while studying for their MBAs there.

They joined hands to develop the Ringle English tutoring platform for professionals after they faced challenges as non-native English speakers in the US.  

Ringle English currently works with about 2,000 tutors, of which 70% are students from the top 20 US universities such as Harvard University and Stanford University. About 20,000 people currently use the Ringle English tutoring service.

The startup was designated as a future unicorn, a privately held startup company with a valuation of $1 billion or more, by the Korean government.

Its Korean headquarters are in Seoul.

Write to Jin-Suk Choi at iskra@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.