Hallo Launches in India, Aims to Democratize English Learning with Agora’s Real-time Engagement

Hallo, a US-based real-time English learning platform for speaking, has announced its launch in India to help Indians learn English from native teachers and practice speaking with other students from around the world anytime, anywhere.

Hallo enables virtual interactions between English students and native English teachers through live and 1-on-1 classes coupled with interest-based English courses and AI proficiency tests to assess progress. The platform currently has over 200,000 users in India and primarily caters to users from ages 18-35.

Released in 2019, Hallo has been growing at an explosive rate, with tens of millions of minutes of calls each month on the platform. In India, the English learning industry is rapidly expanding with schools, English academies, and platforms that are focused on formal rules of the language with almost no emphasis on speaking and interactions. Hallo believes that the most effective way to learn English is through real-time engagement with real people. By focusing on human interaction, one can build confidence, overcome the fear of speaking, advance their career, and become fluent while learning how to communicate with others. The app currently has over 1 million students across 150 countries around the world. Live classes with a native English teacher are available to Indian customers at the lowest prices of INR 100 per class, so they can learn and speak with native speakers in a fun and affordable way.

Hallo has a global reach; its users live around the world, especially in countries like India, South Korea, Indonesia, Egypt, and Brazil. It partnered with Agora, the leading voice, video, and live streaming platform to create engaging and immersive experiences for language learning. Agora’s technology and APIs empower the main features of Hallo such as live streaming, video calls, and audio calls, which enable its users to connect and interact globally in real-time.

Commenting on the launch, Joon Beh, CEO of Hallo, said:

“English remains one of the two major languages of India alongside Hindi, India boasts the largest population of English speakers in the world after the United States. However, only a small percentage of India’s population speaks English primarily due to a lack of access to native speakers and an interactive language learning platform. With the rise of mobile devices and internet consumption, we are committed to building a future where English learners can find opportunities to speak and become fluent anytime, anywhere in the palm of their hands.

India is a huge market for us; by the end of 2022, we are confident that we’ll reach 10 million students and 10 million minutes of calls every day on our platform. With Agora’s global scalability and ultra-low latency, we are looking forward to providing millions of learners in India with the opportunity to speak English and become fluent. Hallo will democratize English language learning.”

Ranga Jagannath, Director-Growth, Agora, said:

“Our partnership with Hallo is an exciting opportunity to revolutionize language learning in India. Agora’s API and industry-leading software development kits, (SDKs) enabled Hallo to embed crystal-clear voice and video into their application. Our machine learning algorithms dynamically route transmissions across 250 globally distributed data centers, which ensure high-definition, low latency voice, and video communications to Hallo’s customers regardless of their geographic location, device type, and network condition. We are thrilled to be a part of Hallo’s growth journey in India.”

Hallo is the first real-time, language-learning, social platform in the market and has secured funding of 2.4 million USD from prominent US venture capital firms such as Kickstart, RevRoad, Tamarack, and Dunce Capital.

About the Author

Author: Stephen Soulunii

No more a student, but love to learn. Not a teacher, but care about how students are taught. Not an educator, but want everyone to be educated. Not a social worker, but desire to see change. Not a reformer, but always want to see a better world. The author believes that only sound education can bring a better future, better world and technology can help achieve a lot in this field.

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