Funding Boost for Language App: Babbel Raises $22 Million
Global online language learning market leader completes Series C round and secures SEP as new investor
Babbel, the leading app for language learning, today announces the successful completion of a $22 million investment round to drive further growth. The round is led by Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) and supported by existing investors Reed Elsevier Ventures, Nokia Growth Partners (NGP), and VC Fonds Technology Berlin managed by IBB Bet.
The investment will add momentum to the company’s impressive growth, while ensuring the continuation of its cutting-edge product development. Babbel has been profitable since 2011, with its mobile app now seeing up to 120,000 downloads per day. As the global highest grossing language-learning app in both the iOS App Store and Google Play Store, Babbel operates a subscription-based business model with a clear focus on consumers outside the realm of formal education. With its recently released app for Apple Watch, the company presents a strong vision for the future of language learning.
“Babbel is defining a new market and revolutionizing the way people learn languages,” says Babbel Inc. President Thomas Holl. “In SEP we’ve gained a high-profile partner that shares our vision of making learning easy and fun for everyone. This investment enables us to fully capitalize on a significant market shift towards self-motivated learning.”
SEP Partner Stuart Paterson, who joins Babbel’s Board of Directors adds: “Babbel sets the standard for online language learning, and its strong international footprint is a reflection of that. We see significant growth potential in this market and are delighted to support the company as it executes its expansion in the Americas.”
Babbel helps people to discover the fun of language learning and motivates them to stick with it. In fact, the average customer continues to use the app for more than 12 months. In order to get users conversational quickly, the company employs a team of education and language experts who create specific courses for each language pair – 14 learning languages and 7 display languages are currently on offer. Babbel is available on the web, for smartphone and tablet, and now for Apple Watch.
About Scottish Equity Partners (SEP)
SEP is a leading venture capital investor in high-growth technology and technology-enabled companies. Operating from offices in London, Glasgow and Edinburgh, SEP invests up to £20m in innovative, growth-stage companies with a sharp focus on the IT, healthcare and energy sectors. Notable Internet investments include Skyscanner, Mister Spex, MATCHESFASHION.COM and Zuto.
For further information, see www.sep.co.uk.
About Babbel
Babbel develops and operates an ecosystem of interconnected online language learning experiences and is driven by the purpose of creating mutual understanding through language. This means building products that help people connect and communicate across cultures. The Babbel App, Babbel Live, Babbel Podcasts and Babbel for Business products focus on using a new language in the real world, in real situations, with real people. And it works: Studies by linguists from institutions such as Michigan State University, Yale University and the City University of New York demonstrated the efficacy of Babbel’s language learning methods.
The key is a blend of humanity and technology. Babbel offers more than 60,000 lessons across 15 languages, hand-crafted by nearly 200 didactics experts, with user behaviors continuously analysed to shape and tweak the learner experience. This results in constantly adapting, interactive content with live classes, games, podcasts and videos that make understanding a new language easy, from Spanish to Indonesian.
Because Babbel is for everyone, its team is as diverse as its content. From its headquarters in Berlin and its U.S. office in New York, 1000 people from more than 80 nationalities represent the backgrounds, characteristics and perspectives that make all humans unique. Babbel sold over 15 million subscriptions by creating a true connection with users.
More information: www.babbel.com
