With 4 million app downloads, Estonia’s Vocal Image uses AI to help people improve their voice and communication techniques through interactive, affordable coaching. The startup’s roots lie in founder Nick Lahoika’s own struggles with diction and anxiety his transformation, aided by vocal coach Maryna Shukiurava, inspired him to build a digital alternative to traditional voice training.

Their subscription-based app offers an interactive library full of tongue twisters, breathing exercises, demonstration videos, and gesture tips helping users practice in a safe, confidence-boosting environment. With help from co-founder and CTO Mikalai Karaliou, Vocal Image now uses AI to deliver personalized feedback and automated communication tips.

Rapid growth has followed. Having begun as a YouTube voice coaching channel, the startup reached $6.5 million in annual recurring revenue on under $1 million in pre-seed funding. Its latest figures: $12 million ARR, 50,000 paid subscribers, a 20-member team largely composed of Belarusian exiles, and expansion into multiple languages including Spanish, German, French, Ukrainian, and Russian.

Vocal Image’s unique strength lies in its GDPR-compliant voice dataset: over 1 million labeled recordings collected via community-based “Voice Ratings,” enabling improvements in AI accuracy and even supporting synthetic voice generation in the future.