Israeli edtech startup Lingua.ly attracts $1 mln

Israeli educational tech startup Lingua.ly has secured $1 million in funding. The backers were unnamed private and government investors.

PRESS RELEASE

March 11, 2015 –Edtech startup Lingua.ly announces the closing of a $1Million funding round from private and government investors, aims to continue reshaping the way we learn languages through digital media.

The successful funding round complements Lingua.ly’s previous $800K in funding and comes on the heels of its recent app release for iOS 8 devices.

Already a popular platform for its “digital immersion”-style of learning, the new round of funding will allow the Lingua.ly team to unlock additional capacity in its operations and continue to be a leading player in the language-focused Edtech sphere. Additionally, the funding will ensure that its users continue to have access to its unique style of learning for free.

The platform, which applies a Facebook-like news feed instead of set lessons, encourages students to search out news and apply their language learning experience to current events.

A user can read a news article on their feed in a foreign language anywhere and at anytime, highlight a word they do not understand and look it up through the app.

“By making daily life the centerpiece of the platform, we’re giving people a way to learn the language they need and to get to know the local culture and news at the same time,” said Dr. Jan Ihmels, CEO and Co-founder. “We don’t waste a learner’s time on nonsense sentences but get right to the real content that’s relevant, timely and will help individuals build the vocabulary necessary to be considered proficient in a language,” he adds.

The new round of funding, Ihmels explains, shows the degree of success and impact that Lingua.ly is having.

Ihmels started the company in 2011 with co-founder Dr. Orly Furhman as a way to take successful language learning strategies and marry them with technology and the latest in linguistics research.

After spending 2 years developing the patent-pending algorithm, the startup launched an extension for Chrome, followed by a mobile app for Android last April.

“Knowing another language, particularly a global language like English, is becoming a part of many people’s lives, for both work and for personal reasons,” says Ihmels. “The beauty of Lingua.ly is the flexibility that we give our users. They can expand their vocabulary in any sphere at home, at work, and even on the bus.”

As content on the app is only limited by the availability of international news media, Lingua.ly provides a cost-free solution for those learning less popular languages — such as Dutch, Portuguese and Hebrew — as well as catering to the billions of people around the globe studying English and popular languages like Arabic and Spanish.

“We know that immersion is the most efficient and enjoyable way to learn a new language. The Lingua.ly platforms give our users just that type of experience,” explains Ihmels.
Often mentioned alongside Duolingo and Memrise as a leading language platform, Lingua.ly now counts with over half a million worldwide users.

About 80% of Lingua.ly’s users study English with a majority originating from the Middle East, China, Russia and Brazil where Lingua.ly’s Chrome extension and Android apps are among the most popular free tools for English learners.

Now with its new round of funding and the recent release of its iOS8 app, the startup has big plans for 2015 and foresees more international growth as they expand to other platforms and add new features to the service for both classroom oriented and independent learners.

About
Lingua.ly is a great way to enhance vocabulary anytime, anywhere. Lingua.ly’s blended learning solution can be used as a stand-alone product or to complement language classes and self-study. It is cloud synced and operable via desktop or mobile, supporting 18+ dictionary languages. Visit www.lingua.ly for more information.