Babbel

Last updated
Babbel GmbH
Babbel logo.svg
Type of site
 Private
Available in
List
Headquarters Berlin,
Germany
Key people
Industry E-learning, online education
Revenue €247 million (2022) [1]
Employees1000 globally [2] [3]
URL www.babbel.com
Registrationyes
LaunchedAugust 2007;17 years ago (2007-08)
Current statusOnline

Babbel GmbH, operating as Babbel, [4] is a German company operating a subscription-based language learning software and e-learning platform.

Contents

With 1000 employees, Babbel is headquartered in Berlin (Babbel GmbH) and has an office in New York City, operating as Babbel Inc. [5] Babbel's app is available for web, iOS and Android offering lessons in 14 languages. The company develops its learning content in-house. [6]

History

The company was founded in August 2007 by Thomas Holl, Toine Diepstraten, Lorenz Heine and Markus Witte. [7] [8] In January 2008, the language learning platform went online with community features as a free beta version. [9]

In March 2013, Babbel acquired San Francisco startup PlaySay Inc. to expand into the United States. [10] [11] As part of the acquisition, PlaySay's founder and CEO joined Babbel as a strategic advisor. [12] Later that year, a third funding round led by Scottish Equity Partners raised another $22 million. [13] [14] Other participants in this round include previous investors Reed Elsevier Ventures, Nokia Growth Partners, [15] and VC Fonds Technology Berlin. [16] [17]

In 2019, co-founder Markus Witte stepped down as CEO and was replaced by Arne Schepker. [18] In March 2020, a works council was elected in the Berlin office. [19]

In March 2022, Babbel provided free access codes to Ukrainian refugees, allowing those with prior knowledge of languages offered by Babbel to learn relevant languages such as German, Polish, and English. [20] In February 2023, Babbel was awarded the "CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Silver Anthem Award for Humanitarian Action & Services" for its efforts to help displaced people affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [21] At the time, over 500,000 Ukrainians accessed Babbel courses under the program. [22]

In 2023, Babbel acquired Toucan (a language-learning browser extension). At the time, it had around 1000 full-time employees and freelancers. [5] As of October 2024, Markus Witte has returned as CEO. [23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Annual revenue generated by Babbel from 2013 to 2022", statista.com
  2. ↑ Nicola, Stefan (January 12, 2017). "Germany's Babbel Adds Ex-Business Insider Executive in U.S. Push". Bloomberg.
  3. ↑ Iszler, Madison (August 28, 2015). "European Language-Learning Startup Challenges Rosetta Stone, Duolingo". Forbes .
  4. ↑ "Lesson Nine GmbH". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2021-04-21. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  5. 1 2 "Babbel expands language learning ecosystem with Toucan acquisition". Tech.eu. 2023-09-19. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  6. ↑ Strathmann, Marvin (March 9, 2016). "Alleine zur Fremdsprache". Die Zeit (in German).
  7. ↑ Swan, David (July 4, 2017). "Babbel may set up office in Australia". The Australian Business Review. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Babbel secures funding for language learning". techcrunch.com. 29 July 2008. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
  9. ↑ Slagel, Jake (March 7, 2016). "Interview with Babbel founder and CEO Markus Witte". The Young Businessmen. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  10. ↑ DiStefano, Joseph N. (March 21, 2013). "Babbel buys PlaySay". Philadelphia Media Network.
  11. ↑ Leach, Anna (March 22, 2013). "Berlin E-Learning Startup Babbel Buys Out San Francisco Rival". The Wall Street Journal .
  12. ↑ Murph, Darren (March 21, 2013). "Babbel acquires PlaySay in bid to bolster US language learning presence". Engadget.
  13. ↑ England, Lucy (July 9, 2015). "German startup Babbel has raised $22 million to help people learn new languages". Business Insider.
  14. ↑ Loeb, Steven (July 8, 2015). "Language learning startup Babbel raises $22M". Vator.
  15. ↑ "Babbel Raises $22 million". Nokia Growth Partners. July 2015. Archived from the original on 2017-07-30. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  16. ↑ Sawers, Paul (July 8, 2015). "Babbel raises $22M to help grow its language-learning platform in the Americas". VentureBeat.
  17. ↑ Lardinois, Frederic (July 8, 2015). "Babbel Raises $22M Series C Round For Its Language Learning Service". TechCrunch.
  18. ↑ "Founder of language learning platform Babbel steps down as co-CEO to focus on board role". TechCrunch. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  19. ↑ ""Beyond quitting" - Employees at Babbel elect a works council". IG Metall Berlin. 2020-03-13. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  20. ↑ "Quick Help: Babbel supports Ukrainian refugees with language courses". www.babbel.com. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  21. ↑ "In Review: The Year's Most Pressing Social Issues at the 2023 Anthem Awards". Anthem Awards. 2023-02-15. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  22. ↑ "By helping displaced Ukrainians learn a new language, Berlin's Babbel has taken its chance to make a difference". Tech.eu. 2023-02-25. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  23. ↑ Lardinois, Frederic (2024-10-11). "Exclusive: Babbel co-founder Markus Witte will return as CEO, replacing Arne Schepker". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.