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How Duolingo Gamified Language Learning Into a Public Company
Lucas and Luna dig into Duolingo's unusual path to IPO — a company that turned language learning into a mobile game and somehow made it work as a business. They focus on a single surprising number: Duolingo's 2025 revenue hit roughly $750 million, with a compound annual growth rate above 40 percent since 2020. The conversation traces how founder Luis von Ahn, a Carnegie Mellon computer science professor, applied the mechanics of daily streaks and notifications to build a user base of over 100 million monthly active users. They discuss the tension between education and engagement…
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