Duolingo

Our CEO Luis has onboarded 👏 EVERY 👏 NEW 👏 EMPLOYEE! That’s 1000+ people! 😱 Some people think this is ridiculous. They said we should stop doing this after the first few hundred employees because “it’s not scalable.” But we disagree. Luis still takes time to speak to every new employee about how the company was started and answer their questions. He also has dinner with them during onboarding week. Why? Simply because it maintains our mission-driven culture. Our mission is at the heart of everything we do. It’s why Duolingo exists. That mission gives our work direction and meaning, and that’s why every new employee hears directly from Luis during onboarding: a mini TED Talk that keeps our mission front and center.

A Duolingo story that always sticks with me: An older man used the app every day. Built up a streak. And when he died, his daughter kept it going. She said it was one meaningful way for her to still feel close to him. I think about that story around the holidays – a time when we remember how powerful rituals can be. It’s a beautiful tribute, but it also speaks to a generation of older learners that we don’t talk about enough. We have learners in their 70s, 80s even 90s who show up every day to learn something new. And it's remarkable. When you're young, learning is a daily habit. You’re handed a curriculum at school and your job is to learn.  When you’re older, you have the freedom to explore learning that matters to you. We keep seeing older learners come back to the app. Maybe they're planning a trip. Maybe they want to talk to their grandkids in their native language. They're not doing it for a job. They're not doing it to pass a test. They're doing it because learning still matters. It keeps them curious and connected. Language learning and multilingualism are also proven to help with longevity. That's what gets me. The world tells you to slow down at a certain age, to settle in. But these learners decided they're not done. They’re still growing. And we’re lucky to be a small part of their story.

As the year ends, we’re looking back at all the new features we introduced in 2025. This year, we: - Launched our Chess course on iOS and Android - Rolled out Duolingo Score across all language courses (and you can add it to your LinkedIn profile!) - Expanded Math and Music with new units and beginner tracks - And so much more! Want the full rundown of everything we shipped this year? Take a look at our 2025 product recap: https://lnkd.in/eGXdafCj

If you know, you know. Stephen has many roles at Duolingo: TikTok star, holiday trendsetter... and oh yeah, General Counsel, I guess.

Did you know that in addition to building a learning app in Pittsburgh... we also built a taqueria!?🌮 Meet Duo’s Taqueria, a Mexican restaurant next to our Pittsburgh HQ. It brings the energy of Mexico City to Pittsburgh with curated Mexican art, a long list of mezcals and tequilas, and a menu inspired by all 31 Mexican states. And yes, once a week, employees get to eat there for free. 💚 At Duolingo, innovation takes many forms… sometimes even taco-shaped.  Interested in applying and free tacos? We’re hiring! → https://lnkd.in/gUxa7kW8>

To all the Product Managers (PMs) out there - we did a year-end recap just for you with help from our product team. 😅 You all worked really hard this year and had a LOT of accomplishments: -You aligned 237 stakeholders this year -You made 417 Jira tickets! And you're still considering 403 of them in your backlog... -You fiddled in 620 @Figma files and destroyed your designer's components every time! -You deleted and rewrote 6,200 @Slack messages -Your “quick syncs” actually took 945 hours this year! -You had to shut down 90 experiments this year PMs - What other ”accomplishments” do you want to celebrate?! Drop them below. ⬇️ #product

🦉 POV: It’s your first week in a new role… and that imposter syndrome starts to creep in 😏 It happens more often than we like to admit, especially amongst high achievers (like you!). For those with a case of imposter syndrome, here are 5 pieces of advice from our own Duos (employees). Swipe ➡️

This is the story of a beloved Duolingo tradition… that we had to kill. 💀🎂 Every month, we sang "Happy Birthday" over Zoom. All of us. In unison. Kinda. We used to do it in person while eating cake, but we started doing it over Zoom during the pandemic. It was chaotic. It was earnest. It was objectively painful to listen to. It brought us together, and it was a good laugh. We really loved… it for a while. But eventually we retired our birthday chorus. There are parts of Duolingo’s culture we work hard to preserve, like our love of celebrations, team rituals, and shared weirdness. But we also know when to evolve. 💚 RIP Zoom birthdays. You served us well. #onlyatduolingo

Your 2025 Year in Review is out! Have you gotten yours yet? Check your app to see all sorts of fun stats, like how much XP you earned, total minutes studied, and even your personal “learner style.” And this year, we’re including stats for Chess and your Duolingo Score! It’s a simple reminder that a learning mindset (and just a few minutes a day) really adds up. 💪 💚 Share your stats in the comments! 👇