Verbling

Verbling was founded in 2011 by Jake Jolis, Mikael Bernstein, and Gustav Rydstedt, who met while attending Stanford University.^[1][2][3] The company's initial platform, Verbling Friends, connected users interested in learning each other's language to each other via videotelephony.^[4][5] Verbling was financed by Y Combinator in the summer of 2011.^[6]

It launched in July 2011.^[7]

In 2012, the company raised $1 million in funding and moved its headquarters from Palo Alto to San Francisco, California.^[4][8]

In November 2012, the company added nine new languages and Google Hangouts-powered chats.^[9]

In April 2013, it launched Verbling courses whereby students follow a set curriculum after taking a language assessment test.^[10]

In November 2013, it added private study groups.^[11]

In December 2013, Verbling launched Verbling Classes, a teaching platform, later discontinued in favor of private lessons. The classes were also live streamed so other users could watch the class without directly interacting with the lesson.^[12]

In 2015, Verbling raised $2.7 million in series A round funding to expand its technology to more platforms. Investors included Draper Fisher Jurvetson, SV Angel, Sam Altman, and Joshua Schachter.^[13]

In January 2016, the company offered free lessons in Swedish to Syrian refugees displaced by the Syrian Civil War.^[14]

In October 2016, it launched an enterprise version to aide employees in communicating with colleagues that speak other languages and signed Volkswagen Group and Zara as users.^{[15][6][16][17]}

In February 2017, Verbling launched Android and iOS mobile apps. The platform had 2000 teachers, offering classes in 43 languages, that year.^[18]

In January 2020, Verbling was acquired by Busuu for "double-digit millions".^[19][20] Busuu was acquired by Chegg in 2021.^[21]

• Community language learning
• Language education
• Online education
• Online platforms for collaborative consumption