General Atlantic has supplied equity and secured shares through a secondary transaction, and will aid the CMU-founded language app developer's international growth objectives.
Duolingo, the US-based online language learning service spun out of Carnegie Mellon University, has secured $10m of funding from venture capital firm General Atlantic, TechCrunch reported on Monday, citing a regulatory filing.
The spinout told TechCrunch the money was raised above the $1.5bn valuation achieved with its series F round in December 2019, but declined to provide further details.
General Atlantic picked up additional shares in a secondary transaction with an unnamed existing investor, but financial terms were not revealed.
Founded in 2011, Duolingo markets an app for people to learn and practice languages through brief lessons and gamified assignments.
It recently launched an app for children to practice reading and writing, and has expanded its management with the addition of a general counsel and chief financial officer.
Duolingo stresses it remains cash-generative and claims to have sought investor expertise rather than an urgent infusion of capital.
General Atlantic will gain an observer seat on Duolingo’s board of directors. It is expected to advise on international markets, including Asia, as Duolingo pursues objectives including growing the market for its English language proficiency test.
The spinout has assembled $148m in equity to date including the aforementioned $30m series F investment last year from CapitalG, a growth-stage equity subsidiary of internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet.
Venture capital firm Drive Capital led a $25m series E round in 2017, after CapitalG had led a $45m series D for Duolingo in 2015 that featured existing investors Union Square Ventures, New Enterprise Associates and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers as well as private investors Ashton Kutcher and Tim Ferris.