The phenomenally successful language learning app Duolingo has gone public. Is it worth buying shares?
It’s world-wide success is down to it being as portable as your phone, so you can learn any time, any where; incentivising with points and learning streaks; AI-tailored lessons to the learner’s ability and it’s free unless you want an ad-less experience. It’s now also offering the Duolingo English Test, which is accepted at a growing number of universities as proof of proficiency. In the pipeline are lessons in other subjects to exploit the boom in online learning,
According to investment and financial advice company The Motley Fool, it could be a good investment bet, but for now it advises a wait and see approach. The reasons for this are three-fold.
First, as Duolingo itself admits, there are thousands of competitor apps out there all vying for the same customer base; then there are schools, universities and language companies, of which some offer free language courses, making it a crowded market. Finally, the stock has been valued at such a high price that, in the words of The Motley Fool, it’s ‘too hot to handle’. It recommends keeping an eye on how it does for a few quarters before jumping in.
