American language-learning website and mobile app Duolingo has reportedly filed for a U.S. initial public offering (IPO) and plans to enter the Nasqad listing as DUOL, after doubling its revenue in the first quarter of this year.
The company was valued at USD 2.4 billion after a USD 35 million funding round with participation from General Atlantic and Durable Capital Partners in November. Also, last year, revenue at the Pittsburgh-based firm increased by 129%, reaching USD 161.7 million.
For the three months ending March 31, Duolingo made USD 55.4 million in revenue, recording a 97% increase from the previous year. In the same period, net losses increased to USD 13.5 million from USD 2.2 million a year ago, credible sources cited.
For the record, Duolingo provides 95 courses in 38 languages, ranging from popular languages like Italian, French, and Spanish to fewer known languages like Scottish Gaelic, Navajo, and Hawaiian. Further, it has also developed Duolingo English Test, a convenient and affordable language certification option approved by over 2,000 universities and organizations worldwide.
The organization highly relies on mobile app stores for distribution. In fact, the firm stated that it generated 19% of its income from Google Play Store and 51% from Apple's App Store in 2020 and was the top-grossing application in each store's education category.
Duolingo also ranks high in Google searches, with over nine times as many searches for its name as for the phrase learn Spanish. It is also to be noted that the company made it to ‘CNBC Disruptor 50’ three times and ranked No. 42 on the list last year, being among Pittsburgh's most valuable private start-ups.
The company has Union Square Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, and CapitalG, independent growth fund of Alphabet Inc., as its biggest venture capital investors. Duolingo appointed Allen & Company, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, and Evercore ISI to head the offering, cited knowledgeable sources.
Source Credit- https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/28/duolingo-files-s-1-for-ipo.html