The language translation startup has raised $15 million in funding from New Enterprise Associates and Union Square Ventures. The funds will go toward hiring and promoting the service internationally.

Last June we introduced Duolingo, a combination free language education website and crowd-sourced online language translation service, dedicated to translating the web into every language by having language students translate it while they learn a new language for free.

Since its launch the service has grown to 250,000 users and now offers English, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese language lessons. Later this year, the company will offer lessons in Italian and Chinese. It also plans to release an iPhone app.

"Today more than 50 percent of online content is available only in English, and we see this as a powerful opportunity," said Dr. von Ahn, Co-Founder and CEO, Duolingo.

"By harnessing the output from millions of students, we can accurately translate online content and bring the rich resources of the Web to anyone. Given the strong and growing worldwide demand for language learning and translation services, especially in developing countries, NEA's vast global network and growing focus on education makes the firm a natural partner for us as we expand internationally," said von Ahn.

Harry Weller, general partner with New Enterprise, said the organization is encouraged by what Duolingo has accomplished so far and he has high expectations for the future.

"Duolingo's founders have fused a very ambitious mission—making the Web accessible to everyone—with an elegantly architected solution that simultaneously fuels worldwide language learning and targets a massive $30 billion language translation market," said Weller.

"We view this as an opportunity to partner with an exceptional founding team in a space we're very excited about," he said.

Sign up for Duolingo if you want to learn a new language and participate in this project.

By Alex Dupont
Marketing Communications Specialist
Language Translation Inc.

See Also

• More about language translation
  Translation is the act of rewriting a document, changing it into another language. An accurate professional translation can save a patient's life, win a bid, or persuade a shopper to buy your product.
• Duolingo Gets $15 Million To Translate The World's Text Through Online Learning
  Now von Ahn?s new translation startup Duolingo is going after a potentially bigger target with translation services and language learning.
• More about Duolingo
  Duolingo is an online social platform that teaches users a new language while they simultaneously translate content across the web.
• More about Dr. Von Ahn
  Wikipedia's biography