Vocal Image, which was co-founded by Nick Lakhoika, is a startup that uses AI to improve the ways people speak and express themselves. Founded in Estonia, the company’s mission is to help people who are anxious speakers or have issues pronouncing words clearly. By this rollout in May of 2025, the platform has attracted impressive notoriety. It’s now grown to more than 160,000 active users with $12 million in ARR.
For Nick Lakhoika, who was born in Belarus and struggled with learning English himself, effective communication is key. His story Starting from a young age, Ajani faced challenges with speaking anxiety. Desperate to beat it, he approached for assistance with vocal coach Maryna “Rusia” Shukiurava. But under her tutelage, Lakhoika learned that voice and communication are things that can be developed and cultivated.
Lakhoika continued, thinking back to his school years, “I think I was a little bit bullied for good diction. This personal battle lit the fire for him to create Vocal Image, a community and resource hub for a generation of people feeling the same way.
Vocal Image uses AI tech to deliver personalized coaching, increasing user confidence as they improve their speaking skills. The platform has already collected more than 1 million corporate and celebrity real-voice samples, with 35,000 unique recordings uploaded per day by its consumer base. This large database allows Vocal Image to provide tailored feedback and suggestions to help artists reach their full potential.
Back in August the startup announced that it had reached about 50,000 paid users, a sign of impressive demand for its services. Lakhoika credits Estonia’s favorable business environment as a key factor in the startup’s rapid growth. The company was a member of the local accelerator Startup Wise Guys, which has further helped propel the company’s success.
The platform aims to help users find their own voice and play around with how they communicate with the app. “Weird gestures and noises are encouraged,” Lakhoika added. He described the nurturing atmosphere that Vocal Image provides, where you feel safe to explore your creativity.
Not far away, fellow TechCrunch reporter Anna Heim has been shining a light on the impactful startups doing such civic good all over Europe. Her enthusiasm for pioneering businesses such as Vocal Image highlights the state’s vibrant startup scene. Heim has moderated dozens of panels and conducted onstage interviews at leading industry events, including TechCrunch Disrupt, VivaTech, and South by Southwest (SXSW).
If you’d like to get in touch with Anna Heim for deeper commentary, or for an interview, you can contact her here. You can reach her at annatechcrunch@gmail.com.