Duolingo Just Raised $35M. Udemy Got $50M. Both Are Valued Billions More.

Two of the fastest growing and most highly valued education technology companies are going down the alphabet as they raise subsequent rounds at higher and higher valuations.

Duolingo, the language-learning app developer, announced it had secured $35 million in a Series H round from private equity firms Durable Capital Partners LP and General Atlantic. This latest investment gives the Pittsburgh-based company a valuation of $2.4 billion—nearly a billion dollar more than its previous valuation when it last raised money in December 2019. To date, the company has raised $183 million in outside capital.

The funding comes on the heels of continued growth during an abnormal year. In March, the company reported a doubling of new users, which it attributed to more people learning from home as shelter-in-place orders were instituted in response to the pandemic. According to a company official, Duolingo currently has around 40 million monthly active users, and over 1 million subscribers who pay $6.99 per month. Another paid offering, an English proficiency exam for higher-ed admissions, has seen a 15-times growth in the number of test takers this year, with countries like India driving this business.
…..