Duolingo Acquires Gunner to Accelerate Product & Brand Development
Detroit Animation Studio Helps Duolingo Drive Learning Engagement
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Duolingo, Inc. (Nasdaq: DUOL), the world’s leading mobile learning platform, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Gunner, a design and animation studio based in Detroit. Duolingo uses animation in its learning apps to drive engagement, keep learners motivated, and build its globally recognized brand.
“We know that the hardest thing about learning a language, or any new subject, is staying motivated and that’s why we make Duolingo fun,” said Luis von Ahn, Co-founder and CEO of Duolingo. “Art and animation are foundational to the Duolingo brand, and we use them to help make Duolingo a beloved daily habit in millions of learners’ lives.”
Gunner has been an integral animation and design partner for Duolingo since 2020 and produces art and animations that show up in Duolingo’s flagship language app and early childhood literacy app, Duolingo ABC. The studio also produces elements of Duolingo’s brand marketing campaigns. The acquisition of Gunner will add fifteen new world-class designers, illustrators, and animators to Duolingo’s existing design teams.
“Gunner is a world-class illustration and animation studio that we’ve worked with for years, and they know our brand well,” said Bob Meese, Chief Business Officer of Duolingo. “Animation brings life to Duo, our iconic brand mascot, and to our cast of characters. It helps make our products great, and our characters memorable. We love Gunner and are thrilled to welcome their whole team to Duolingo.”
“We have been fortunate to collaborate with so many great brands as a studio, but over the last couple of years Duolingo has stolen our hearts,” said Ian Sigmon, Co-founder of Gunner. “Our artists pour so much care into every project, so it feels right to be at a company that invests in art, and has a mission that we believe in.”
About Duolingo
Duolingo is the leading mobile learning platform globally. Its flagship app has organically become the world’s most popular way to learn languages and the top-grossing app in the Education category on both Google Play and the Apple App Store. With technology at the core of everything it does, Duolingo has consistently invested to provide learners a fun, engaging, and effective learning experience while remaining committed to its mission to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available.
About Gunner
Gunner is an illustration and animation studio based in Detroit, MI that strives to tell meaningful stories and create imagery that inspires (you).
Contact Information
Investors:
Deborah Belevan, IRC, CPA
VP of Investor Relations
ir@duolingo.com
Media:
Sam Dalsimer
Global Head of Communications
press@duolingo.com
