Hear the word ‘curry’, and it instantly evokes associations with India and its hot pot of melting cultures and languages. Language Curry is a platform that offers digital solutions for those struggling to pick up a new Indian language.
It was co-founded in 2019 by Aneesha Jyoti, Vatsala Sharma and Puneet Singh. Jyoti says the idea for the venture was sparked by her own difficulties in learning new Indian languages after a decade abroad.
She recalls that there were excellent solutions available for learning European languages, English, and other popular languages, but no comparable app for Indian languages.
“There are very few apps that teach Indian languages; there is no single app that can teach you more than 10 Indian languages together. There were one or two when we started, but their focus soon shifted to teaching English, French, and Spanish,” she says.
Initially designed for non-resident Indians, expats and tourists, the platform started off with four languages — Hindi, Sanskrit, Gujarati, and Punjabi. It quickly scaled up to cover 12 languages.
The app offers a choice of learning modules. “No other language learning app will help one pick from different ways of learning. In addition to structured learning, we have also gamified, which is the paid part of the app,” says Jyoti. It delivers content that’s rich in context, relevance, and colloquial nuances, she adds.
Subscription model
To fuel growth, Language Curry targets three segments: the South Indian language market; enthusiasts of Indian culture globally; and diaspora hubs like the US, the UK, Australia, and Canada.
With an active user base of over 2 lakh, it has crossed 20 lakh downloads, with 90 per cent of it within India. That, however, presents a tricky situation, says Jyoti, since much of the app’s revenue comes from overseas users.
Operating on a freemium model, the app charges a nominal fee after the initial chapters and offers a 12-month subscription priced under ₹500 in India; the international rates vary. While limited to Indian languages currently, the platform sees potential to offer more global choices, starting with Asian languages.
“As of now, we feel that a lot of work needs to be done for the Indian language section. In the future, we may explore other language offerings, starting with Asian languages; the popular European languages market is crowded,” she explains.
“GFSA [Google for Startups Accelerator] immensely helped us develop our product strategy and get access to the best in the industry to build a stronger product technically. The team at GFSA continues to extend their support and networks even after the programme has commenced.” The start-up has cumulatively raised around $700,000 across two rounds of funding and intends to raise $2–3 million in an upcoming round.