Large language model(s)
Though Duolingo has amassed a userbase that outweighs the populations of many of the nations whose languages it teaches, converting that army of linguaphiles into a sustainable business has been difficult, especially given the founders’ initial budget-friendly mission. Duolingo has, however, managed to make it work as the company’s pure scale has given it the levers to run one of the most effective freemium models in the industry.
That model — giving all users access to a certain portion of the app’s features, whilst ringfencing others for paying subscribers only — has worked. Since the pandemic, Duolingo’s growth has gone into overdrive, as sales hit $137.6 million in its latest quarter, with more than 75% of that figure from subscriptions to the platform’s Super Duolingo service and its newer, more derivatively-named Max.
Duolingo now counts some 5.8 million paid subscribers, helping the app to become the top-grossing in education on the Google Play store and the Apple equivalent, as users seem keener than ever to upgrade and explore additional features like ad-free courses, extended playing time in the built-in games and quizzes, and enhanced AI content in the case of Duolingo Max too.
The company also hasn’t been able to resist the allure of advertising, raking in nearly $12m from ad deals in its latest quarter, more than it received for provisions of the Duolingo English Test — a proficiency exam that’s now accepted by over 5,000 universities around the world.
Deepfake conversations
For better or worse, Duolingo has cracked the code of mainstream language-learning, optimizing for the way that many people want to learn, with nudges, games and points to tell them that they’re progressing. But, just as that process has been honed to cold calculated perfection, AI has emerged onto the scene, with chatbots promising to turn the entire industry on its head.
That could usher in a new era of next-level immersion for language-learners, as users take their newfound vocabulary into conversations with chatbots that feel real… even if they’re not. That might be good for users, but employees have already lost out, with Duolingo laying off 10% of its contractors in January, citing AI.
