But conspicuously absent are non-Romance language countries with different scripts like in the Middle East and Asia.Īnd Duolingo will face competition from both mobile apps and more desktop-friendly players in the Asian market. France follows with about 800,000 users, then Italy with 944,000. It’s strong in the Americas and Europe, with almost 6 million ‘learners’ to date in the United States, 2.4 million in Brazil and 1.3 million in Mexico. Most importantly, though, Duolingo needs the money to tackle the Asian market, where competition will be fierce. So that means millions from backers like NEA and Kleiner while the company builds out a way to sell translations and eventually certifications for completion of standardized tests to demonstrate you’ve mastered a language, a revenue stream von Ahn hopes to get going soon. “They are people of low socioeconomic status, and we are not going to try to charge them.” “The vast majority of people learning a language are doing so in order to get a better job,” von Ahn says. The company makes money by crowd-sourcing pieces of translation done by its students and selling them to companies like CNN and BuzzFeed. Duolingo chose Kleiner to lead this round specifically because of the prospect of working with former Electronics Arts executive and Kleiner partner Bing Gordon, who sits on the board for OUYA and Zynga and has invested in other gaming companies like Booyah.ĭuolingo’s primary way to make money right now is through its web browser version, though 4 out of 5 users are playing on their phones. While von Ahn says Duolingo doesn’t call itself a game, the company embraces the fact that people say they “play” it. Kleiner Perkins has invested in Coursera, an online classes startup, and most recently a $15 million bet on Remind101, a messaging app for teachers to reach students and their parents. Now the company’s adding $20 million from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, which continues its push into educational tech. Its healthy user base has attracted several rounds of funding from top-tier investors, with a $3.3 million Series A from Union Square Venture Partners in 2011 and then a $15 million Series B led by New Enterprise Associates.
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