When Jiaxin Zhang and her team took in the enchanting grandeur of the centuries-old English castle they were living in, they contemplated how much further their artificial intelligence speech therapy app would make it in the competition. In August, they were staying in Hertfordshire, England to compete for the Hult Prize, the world’s largest student startup competition and $1 million.

“There’s no way we are going to do this,” Zhang said, recalling her thoughts during a walk through the illustrious halls and past the bedrooms that housed the other 21 teams in the round.

Their app, Sara Technology, had already successfully progressed through three rounds against 15,000 teams — allowing them the chance to stay in the historic Ashridge House north of London. Zhang and her team’s app ultimately finished the competition in the final eight in September, though they say it isn’t the end of their journey.

Last year, Zhonghao Shi, who graduated from USC with a Ph.D. in computer science and Weiji Huang, who graduated from USC with a master’s in computer science in 2021, teamed up with Zhang, a Columbia University graduate with an MBA and speech-pathologist Caitlin Carmenati to launch an AI startup addressing the national shortage of speech therapists. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects an average of roughly 13,300 speech therapist openings a year through 2034. Sara Technology aims to reduce that burden by offering children additional practice at home for cheaper.

“We’re building an AI speech tutor for struggling speakers, children with articulation disorder[s] or just English learners [who are] struggling with pronunciation,” Zhang said. “They can get expert speech support anytime, anywhere.”

Sara Technology uses AI and voice recognition technology to give real-time feedback to children ages 4 to 12 years old and track their progress on topics such as the pronunciation of the letter “R.” 

The mission of Sara Technology is personal to the founders: Zhonghao had a speech disorder as a kid, whereas Zhang and Huang both learned English as a second language.

“We all knew what it would feel like for another child to not speak with clarity and be made fun of,” Zhang said. “We all want to help our younger selves, really.”

Although still in the pre-release stages, their app covers over 10 sounds through 20 games and over 1,000 practice targets. The plan is for therapists to give assignments through the app and monitor the progress of their patients. This can help supplement practice for the children between in-person sessions. 

“It’s always best to have in-person therapy, that’s the best, but there’s just not enough time, resources and people to do that, and so we come in to help and supplement.” Zhang said. “We would expand to older ages as well. It’s just, there’s lesser and lesser people with a need as [the age] gets higher.”

According to Connected Speech Pathology, private speech therapy sessions in the U.S. typically cost about $100 to $250 per hour, and a study conducted by Purdue University and Pearson recommended children work with professionals at least twice a week. This can place consistent and effective treatment out of reach for many. 

Last year, the group entered the Hult Prize, the world’s largest student startup competition according to the prize’s website. The Hult Prize has five rounds that take place over the course of a year, awarding the first-place team $1 million at the end. 

Sara Technology first proceeded through the qualifying round which took place on campus at USC. Then, the team advanced through the U.S. nationals and another round. In the second-to-last round, the remaining teams received an invitation to live in Ashridge House for a month. There, they got feedback from industry experts to help hone their product.

From roughly 15,000 teams worldwide, Sara Technology was selected as one of eight finalists competing for the $1 million award. Although the prize ultimately went to another team, the experience brought international recognition and momentum.

Sara Technology has since raised over $100,000 in funding, with USC being one of its largest contributors. As of now, the founders’ plan is to continue refining the app and expand their sound curriculum in the coming months. For the founders, the Hult Prize was just the beginning.