Introduction to Luis 

Luis's Achievements

The Birth of Duolingo

Duolingo's Global Reach

Gamification and Branding

Interview with Luis 

CAPTCHA Invention

Challenges in Early Duolingo

Making Learning Fun

Duolingo's Free Model

User Demographics and Growth

Marketing Strategy

AI in Duolingo

Future of Education with AI

Trends in Language Learning

India as a Market

User Engagement in India

Learning Patterns by Nationality

Effectiveness of Duolingo

Human Elements in AI Learning

Expanding Beyond Languages

Duolingo's Values and Challenges

From Carnegie Mellon classrooms to a global cultural phenomenon, this episode of The Morning Brief  traces the journey of Luis von Ahn, math prodigy, inventor of CAPTCHA, and now the CEO and co-founder of Duolingo. Hosts Anirban Chowdhury and ET’s Deputy news editor Himani Kothari explore how Luis’s early work fighting bots evolved into a business to democratize education through gamified language learning. What began with a Spanish course and a German prototype has grown into a plus 500-million-user platform, driven by Duolingo’s bite-sized lessons, quirky owl mascot, and irreverent marketing strategy. The conversation delves into the company’s expansion into math, music and chess, its partnership with OpenAI, and the creative freedom that powers its viral success. 
As AI becomes central to the future of learning, Luis weighs its potential to enhance not replace human education. Can platforms like Duolingo balance fun, function, and cultural impact in a world increasingly shaped by algorithms?

Tune in:

You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his Linkedin, Twitter profiles and read his Newspaper Articles. 

You can follow Himani Kothari on her Linkedin, Twitter profiles and read his Newspaper Articles.  

If you like this episode, check out more Corner Office Conversations from the podcast: Adar Poonawalla, Sandip Patel, The Mega Listing Of Vishal Retail, Antonoaldo Neves, Rajesh Jejurikar, Srikanth Velamakanni, and more!

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on ET Play, The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

From Carnegie Mellon classrooms to a global cultural phenomenon, this episode of The Morning Brief &nbsp;traces the journey of Luis von Ahn, math prodigy, inventor of CAPTCHA, and now the CEO and co-founder of Duolingo. Hosts Anirban Chowdhury and ET&rsquo;s Deputy news editor Himani Kothari explore how Luis&rsquo;s early work fighting bots evolved into a business to democratize education through gamified language learning. What began with a Spanish course and a German prototype has grown into a plus 500-million-user platform, driven by Duolingo&rsquo;s bite-sized lessons, quirky owl mascot, and irreverent marketing strategy. The conversation delves into the company&rsquo;s expansion into math, music and chess, its partnership with OpenAI, and the creative freedom that powers its viral success. As AI becomes central to the future of learning, Luis weighs its potential to enhance not replace human education. Can platforms like Duolingo balance fun, function, and cultural impact in a world increasingly shaped by algorithms? Tune in:
You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirban-chowdhury-b5067219/">Linkedin</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/AnirbanET">Twitter</a> profiles and read his <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/etreporter/author-anirban-chowdhury-479232745.cms?from=mdr">Newspaper Articles. </a>You can follow Himani Kothari on her <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/himani-kothari-3370ab237/">Linkedin</a>, <a href="https://x.com/himanikothari">Twitter</a> profiles and read his <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/etreporter/author-himani-kothari-479261266.cms?from=mdr">Newspaper Articles.&nbsp; </a>If you like this episode, check out more Corner Office Conversations from the podcast: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/1ZLex1NkE3Ol0Bzu6eb0mC?si=438f0ef627004280">Adar Poonawalla</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/2vgJyNcoP79KGd5H3SjVin?si=d039f643d4224f78">Sandip Patel</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/1NgB5QSzlLPiV7L1iFGVvI?si=2b05e3d7112f49f7">The Mega Listing Of Vishal Retail</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/6oyAQs1iQpXQTiJ9a2fsAU?si=42483b27f888444a">Antonoaldo Neves</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/1MhH3C0n141kJ1rdpBfi5n?si=254767d0988b4f9b">Rajesh Jejurikar</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/6Q9aGmQzSl3kaNMfFcn3tq?si=4fff5bd4366f429d">Srikanth Velamakanni</a>, and <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777">more</a>! Catch the latest episode of &lsquo;The Morning Brief&rsquo; on <a href="https://www.etplay.com/etplay">ET Play</a>, <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/podcast?from=mdr">The Economic Times Online</a>,<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6PL5kfPbwURBEu6fHCVTOL?si=26ec0fbfa7134fea"> Spotify</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.jiosaavn.com/shows/the-morning-brief/1/GNPiFQD2xpY_">JioSaavn</a>, <a href="https://music.amazon.in/podcasts/f378141f-9afb-495d-83da-9b08ec5047ac/the-morning-brief">Amazon Music</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@theetpodcasts">Youtube</a>.

To make sense of the week’s hottest stories in business, economy, politics and markets, journalists from the Economic Times chat with reporters and industry leaders in this thrice-weekly (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday) podcast.

The Morning Brief

Corner Office Conversation with Luis Von Ahn CEO & Co-founder at Duolingo