Digital health startup TikTalk2me — and no, it has nothing to do with the video app TikTok — wants to help thousands of speech therapists in the U.S. accelerate their work, and make learning fun for the children they work with.
TikTalk2me, which was founded in Israel and has its U.S. headquarters in Baltimore, has raised $1.5 million in Series A funding to fuel growth in the U.S. market. The startup is targeting speech language pathologists working in schools and in private practice with its technology. Its interactive digital games are designed to help school-aged children practice speech therapy skills and lessons on their own.
Nir Gamliel, TikTalk's head of U.S. business development, said there are more than 175,000 speech therapists working in U.S. public schools, private schools and private practice and TikTalk plans to use its newly gained capital to fund significant expansion in that market.
The market size of the speech language pathologists industry in the U.S. alone is about $4.2 billion by revenue, according to market research firm IBISWorld. That market size has grown an average of about 2.1% each year between 2016 and 2021. TikTalk CEO Raphi Nassi said in statements the national and global speech therapy markets represent a significant opportunity for the company's growth.
The Series A round was led by Malam Team, an Israeli IT public company, Maccabi Fund, operated by an Israeli health management organization (HMO), and the Israel Innovation Authority. The company is previously backed by $2.12 million, along with some smaller grants, from the Israel Innovation Authority, eHealthVentures, Maccabi Health Fund and Shentav Investments.
Nassi described the new round as "a vote of confidence from [TikTalk's] investors" that its platform "can make a significant difference in outcomes that benefit patients as well as schools, speech therapy agencies and private speech language therapists.”
Gamliel said that nearly half of the speech therapists working in the U.S. work in school systems. They are often limited to using manual tools in therapy sessions and have limited or no access to remote or hybrid tools.
"It is a practice area that is ripe for change," he said.
TikTalk worked with software developers and speech therapists to build its platform, which applies artificial intelligence to help customize speech training games for children learners. The platform actively monitors and provides feedback during practice sessions. It has already been launched in Israel and the Northeastern U.S., and Gamliel said TikTalk plans to use some of its new funding to expand sales and marketing efforts throughout other parts of the country. TikTalk will also invest in further development of its tech platform.
The company is affiliated with the Maryland/Israel Development Center, which supports trade and economic development partnerships between Maryland and Israel. TikTalk piloted its tech in Maryland last year, and ultimately opted to establish its U.S. headquarters here.
The company has 13 employees in Israel and three in the U.S. Gamliel said to accompany the extension of its reach beyond the Northeastern U.S., TikTalk is actively recruiting for several sales and marketing positions nationwide.
TikTalk is also already looking to raise its next round of growth funding, he said, and will be specifically be seeking U.S.-based investors to further strengthen its ties in the national market.
