How Babbel's Banking on Breaking Through the U.S. Market
Markus Witte, CEO of Babbel, joined Cheddar to discuss the growing popularity of learning languages through technology. He said that the desire to learn a new language has increased dramatically over the past decade and points out that people can now get their classes on-the-go.
But what makes Babbel different from similar offerings to those of Rosetta Stone or DuoLingo? Witte argued that his company provides courses tailored to users' native languages. The platform's audio examples and dialogues are recorded by real native speakers, instead of automated computers, empowering users to speak correctly and confidently from day one.
In that same vein, Babbel focuses on teaching its users conversational language, encouraging fluency sooner. Witte noted, unsurprisingly, that members are most eager to learn Spanish and English.
Payoneer CEO John Caplan discusses the implications of $100K H1B visa requirements—and how they could reshape tech talent, hiring, and U.S. competitiveness.
Electronic Arts, the video game maker of “Madden NFL,” “The Sims,” and other popular titles, is being acquired and taken private for about $52.5 billion in what could become the largest-ever buyout funded by private-equity firms.
Merriam-Webster has fully revised its popular “Collegiate” dictionary with over 5,000 new words. They include “petrichor,” “dumbphone” and “ghost kitchen.” Also “cold brew,” “rizz,” “dad bod,” “hard pass,” “cancel culture” and more.