Meet the co-founder & CEO: Luis von Ahn

Entrepreneur and former Carnegie Mellon University professor Luis von Ahn is known for many things. He’s credited with co-inventing CAPTCHAs, being a MacArthur Fellow, and selling two companies to Google before he turned 30. We had the chance to speak to von Ahn and learn more about how a young man from Guatemala City came to be named one of the “10 Most Brilliant Scientists” by Popular Science Magazine.

von Ahn’s hometown of Guatemala City has an enormous contrast of wealth inequality. He describes it as, “On one street you’ll see beautiful houses behind walls in a gated community, and in the next street [you’ll find] some of the poorest slums in the world.” It was this visible line between the wealthy and poor that motivated von Ahn to create Duolingo, whose mission is rooted in creating the best publicly accessible education in the world.

It was his own access to education that led von Ahn to success, especially being afforded the opportunity to learn English. He says that undoubtedly changed the course of his life and allowed him access to higher education in the United States.

“People often say education is the great equalizer, but I actually think it’s the opposite,” von Ahn says, remembering the inequality he grew up with in Guatemala. von Ahn feels the reality is that only those who can afford education gain access, while some barely learn how to read and write.

“Technology allows us to scale high-quality education to everyone who needs it. I’d love it if everyone in the world had access to great schools and teachers, but the reality is that technology is the key to providing more equitable access to education to everyone in the world.”

Today, Duolingo offers users over 100 language courses in 40 different languages – all without a subscription. But according to von Ahn, there’s still more to come. “While we’re most known for teaching language, at its core Duolingo is a powerful platform for teaching and learning in general, and we plan to expand into other subject areas. Literacy is the foundation of all further education, and I want to help make a dent in global illiteracy rates.”

So von Ahn and the Duolingo team created Duolingo ABC, which launched in the past year. Its goal is to teach children to read in their first language and be able to further their early education. Access is a global issue, with UNICEF reporting that 4 out of every 5 children globally lack access to quality pre-primary education. This limits a child’s opportunities to reach their full potential.

It’s clear that von Ahn has been able to take inspiration and seek innovation for the issues that he saw growing up in Guatemala. However, he’s not the only one on the Duolingo team who represents Hispanic creativity and talent in the tech industry.

Some of Duolingo’s senior leaders and creative technologists are Hispanic, including their senior product manager who had the idea for Duolingo Podcasts and the general managers for Duolingo ABC and the Duolingo English Test.

With a solid team alongside him, von Ahn shares, “I hope this kind of representation helps younger people imagine a future for themselves in the tech industry.”

Be sure to check out Duolingo and our other stories highlighting Latinos in tech.