Hyperbond Studio Joins OpenAI for Startups Program to Advance Language Learning

SINGAPORE, 6 May 2026 – Hyperbond Studio, the team behind the AI-powered language learning app Call Me Sensei, announced it has been accepted into the OpenAI for Startups program. The program supports selected AI-native companies through infrastructure support, technical guidance, and access to OpenAI's ecosystem.

The program will support Hyperbond Studio as it expands the conversational and emotional systems behind Call Me Sensei, where users learn languages through relationship-driven interactions, immersive scenarios, and real-world conversations with AI characters called "senseis".

Call Me Sensei focuses on immersion over memorisation. Instead of flashcards and drills, users improve through conversations that shift naturally between humour, awkwardness, affection, conflict, and everyday situations. The platform combines long-term memory, emotional continuity, voice interaction, and branching scenarios to make language practice feel closer to interacting with a real person than using a traditional learning app.

Participation in the program will help Hyperbond Studio continue refining these systems as the platform scales across more users, languages, and gameplay features.

"The OpenAI for Startups program gives us closer access to the tools and ecosystem we need as we keep pushing toward AI companions that feel more human, reactive, and consistent over time," said Shawn Tan, Co-Founder and CEO of Hyperbond Studio.

What's Next

Hyperbond Studio plans to use the program to continue improving memory systems, conversational realism, relationship progression, voice interaction, and real-world gameplay features inside Call Me Sensei. The team is also preparing additional scenario formats, deeper companion interactions, and expanded multilingual support ahead of the platform's broader beta rollout.

About Hyperbond Studio

Hyperbond Studio builds AI products focused on language learning, interaction, and emotionally immersive experiences. Its flagship product, Call Me Sensei, helps users practice real-world language through immersive conversation-driven experiences with AI companions. Operating as a distributed team across Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and India, Hyperbond Studio brings native cultural and language context into the design of its characters and scenarios.

About OpenAI

OpenAI develops artificial intelligence systems and models used by individuals, developers, startups, and enterprises worldwide. Its products and APIs support applications across conversation, reasoning, coding, content generation, and multimodal AI experiences.