About Babbel
Babbel is an Education company based in Berlin (Germany) founded in 2007 by Lorenz Heine, Markus Witte, and Thomas Holl. SaaS-based language learning solutions are offered through interactive courses. It operates in the Education and Technology sectors. Babbel has raised $34.2 million across 5 funding rounds from investors including Scottish Equity Partners, REV and NGP Capital. Babbel has completed 3 acquisitions, including Ironbit, PlaySay (Now Babbel) and Toucan. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Arne Schepker. Its website babbel.com draws about 4.6 million monthly visits. Babbel offers products and services including Babbel App, Babbel Videos, Babbel Podcasts, and Babbel Magazine. Its focus areas include High Tech, Speech and Voice Recognition, Applications and Language Learning. Its legal entity is Babbel GmbH.
Company details
Babbel was founded in 2007 in Berlin, Germany, as a provider of SaaS-based language learning platforms in the edtech sector. Courses on various languages are structured into brief lessons focused on grammar and vocabulary exercises, created by native linguists and educators. A voice recognition feature is integrated to provide feedback on pronunciation accuracy. The platform is accessible via web browsers, iOS, and Android devices.
- Total Equity Funding$34.2M (USD)
in 5 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$22M (USD), Series C
Jul 2015
- InvestorsScottish Equity Partners
& 4 more
- Investments & AcquisitionsIronbit
& 2 more
Products & Services of Babbel
Babbel offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Babbel App, Babbel Videos, Babbel Podcasts, and Babbel Magazine.
Interactive app for language lessons and speech practice tools.
Videos exploring language facts and cultural aspects.
Podcasts on language secrets and local cultures.
Articles providing language tips and global stories.
Apps and channels of Babbel
Babbel publishes 1 mobile app with over 50M+ downloads; its YouTube channel Babbel has 27.9K subscribers and 30 videos.
Videos from Babbel
The most watched videos on Babbel's YouTube channel, Babbel (27.9K subscribers). Click a video to play it here.
More on Babbel.
Funding Insights of Babbel
Babbel has successfully raised a total of $34.2M across 5 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series C round of $22 million completed in July 2015. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $34.2M
- Total Rounds 5
- Last Round Series C — $22M
- Investors Count 5
All 5 funding rounds of Babbel with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2015 | $22M | Series C | – | Scottish Equity Partners | |
| Mar 2013 | $10M | Series B | – | REV | |
| Oct 2009 | $1.5M | Grant | – | – | – |
| Jul 2008 | Debt – Conventional | – | – | ||
| Jul 2008 | $2.2M | Series A | – | Kizoo, IBB Ventures | – |
5 investors in total: 5 institutional.
Investors in Babbel
Babbel has secured backing from 5 investors, including venture fund investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Scottish Equity Partners, REV and NGP Capital.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Venture capital firm focused on tech companies | sep.co.uk | London, United Kingdom | ||
Early to late-stage tech investments are made globally by REV. | rev.vc | London, United Kingdom | ||
Venture capital firm focused on B2B companies | ngpcap.com | Palo Alto, United States | ||
Venture capital firm focused on multiple sectors | ibbventures.de | Berlin, Germany | ||
Seed and early-stage German tech and biotech investments are conducted. | kizoo.com | Karlsruhe, Germany |
Investor details for Babbel
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
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People of Babbel
18 people are tracked at Babbel (9 in leadership, 9 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Arne Schepker | CEO | Leadership |
Lorenz Heine | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Markus Witte | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Thomas Holl | Co-Founder & Managing Director | Leadership |
Julie Hansen | Chief Executive Officer US | Leadership |
Christian Baier | MD & CFO | Leadership |
Hal Oral | Vp, Finance & Analytics | Leadership |
Jennifer Janson | Director Of Corporate Finance | Leadership |
Louis Rochester | Executive Assistant To The CFO & VP Of Operations | Leadership |
Camilo Gil Zuluaga | Senior Treasury Manager | Team |
Boris Ianauer | Senior Controller | Team |
Daniela Althoff | Accounts Payable Team Lead | Team |
Prayag Mukherjee | Team Lead, Financial Planning & Strategy | Team |
Rudolfs Zemesarajs | Financial Accountant | Team |
Holly Pyles | Senior Executive Assistant | Team |
Anca Foca | Accounting Principal | Team |
Alexandra Telenkova | Senior Executive Assistant | Team |
Praneel Sharma | Financial Accountant | Team |
Complete people profiles for Babbel
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Investments & Acquisitions by Babbel
Babbel has strategically engaged in corporate development activities, having acquired 3 companies. Notable acquisitions include Ironbit, PlaySay (Now Babbel) and Toucan.
| Company Name | Description | Domain | Location | Founded | Acquired | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New skills are learned via a Chrome extension during browsing. | jointoucan.com | Santa Monica, United States | 2019 | Sep 2023 | •••• | |
Digital transformation and software development company specializing in apps, virtual reality, and cloud computing | ironbit.com | Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico | 2005 | Aug 2023 | •••• | |
Language learners are connected via gamified app for conversational practice. | playsay.com | San Francisco, United States | 2008 | Mar 2013 | •••• |
Complete acquisition details for Babbel
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Timeline of Babbel
6 dated milestones of Babbel across 16 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Babbel is founded.
- Funding First funding round.
- Acquisition Acquires PlaySay (Now Babbel).
- Funding Latest funding round, Series C, of $22.0M.
- Acquisition Acquires Ironbit.
- Acquisition Acquires Toucan.
Web traffic of Babbel
The website of Babbel (babbel.com) receives about 4.6M visits a month and ranks #10,907 among all websites worldwide, #528 in Education.
- Monthly visits4.6M
▲ 18.4% vs previous month
- Unique visitors1.8M
per month
- Global rank#10,907
among all websites
- Category rank#528
Science and Education · Education
- Bounce rate40%
- Pages per visit5.9
- Average visit4 min 02 sec
- DevicesDesktop 41% · Mobile 59%
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Babbel. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| busuu.com | 100% | 3.4M | #7,978 | View details | |
| preply.com | 73% | 23.1M | #2,581 | View details | |
| duolingo.com | 70% | 56.4M | #588 | View details | |
| livemocha.com | 68% | View details | |||
| tellmemore.com | 66% | View details | |||
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 40 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Babbel
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Related news about Babbel
Complete news archive for Babbel
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Frequently Asked Questions about Babbel
Babbel was founded in 2007 and raised its 1st funding round 1 year after it was founded.
Babbel is headquartered in Berlin, Germany. It is registered at Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Arne Schepker is the CEO of Babbel, as recorded in our data.
Babbel is a funded company, having raised a total of $34.2M across 5 funding rounds to date.
Babbel was founded in 2007 in Berlin, Germany, as a provider of SaaS-based language learning platforms in the edtech sector. Courses on various languages are structured into brief lessons focused on grammar and vocabulary exercises, created by native linguists and educators. A voice recognition feature is integrated to provide feedback on pronunciation accuracy. The platform is accessible via web browsers, iOS, and Android devices.
Babbel offers Babbel App, Babbel Videos, Babbel Podcasts, and Babbel Magazine.
Babbel has made 3 acquisitions, including Ironbit, PlaySay (Now Babbel), and Toucan.
Babbel has 5 investors. Key investors include Scottish Equity Partners, REV, NGP Capital, IBB Ventures, and Kizoo.
Babbel operates through Babbel Gmbh.
Yes. Babbel publishes Babbel - Learn Languages, with over 50 million downloads.
The website of Babbel receives about 4.6 million visits a month and ranks #10,907 among all websites worldwide.