East Liberty-based Duolingo Inc. is finalizing the public release of its long-anticipated mathematics-based application that aims to make learning the subject fun for all ages and in a way that's similar to the popular language learning platform that shares its name.
During a prerecorded stream of Duolingo's (NASDAQ: DUOL) annual Duocon event, Senior Software Engineer and Engineering Lead on Duolingo’s Math team Sammi Siegel announced the company plans to launch a public beta version of Duolingo Math "this summer" for iOS devices. The company is soliciting email addresses from those who wish to get first access to the beta when it starts shipping in the coming weeks. Siegel said an official launch of the app will come "later this year."
It's the most definitive timeline yet that the company has offered on the product since it first announced its development in August 2021, which is part of a larger effort for the company with a mission of developing "the best education in the world."
"I'm so excited to be with you today to talk about Duolingo's newest angle, the sum of a lot of hard work, and that's our new math app," Siegel said during her presentation at Duocon. "Our apps have made learning a new language more approachable and enjoyable for people who may have otherwise been too intimidated to try. With motivating streaks and gamified lessons, we know how to make learning fun. And that's exactly what we're trying to do with our math app."
Siegel said the app's focus initially has been on elementary-level math but the company is also working on a "brain training" course for adults.
Like the language learning platform, Duolingo Math courses will be broken into individual units with skills that teach new concepts that build upon previously-learned abilities. All lessons will be generated with random numbers so no two lessons are exactly the same user-to-user. Duolingo has also made these lessons interactive, allowing users to manipulate displayed objects like a ruler on their screen to find different types of measurements. For certain lessons requiring written input, Siegel touted that Duolingo has incorporated new handwriting translation technology for the platform that will convert user-written information by touch into digital answers that require certain numbers or fractions.
"This is just some of what makes our app different from any other math app on the mobile market," Siegel said. "The variability of the math content plus the ability to manipulate shapes and space in our exercises makes us stand out in terms of learning science and engineering."
Duolingo Math isn't the first foray for the Pittsburgh company as it relates to making products that go beyond its initial namesake platform used for the learning of new languages.
Duolingo ABC, a free app the company released in March 2020, is designed to teach children ages 3 to 6 how to read in English. The company is now looking to hire a curriculum designer for Spanish literacy as part of an effort to offer Duolingo ABC in Spanish.
Earlier this month, Duolingo announced that more than 4,000 institutions around the world accept and use the results of its Duolingo English Test, a growing product from the company that aims to showcase an individual's proficiency levels in English. The results from the test can and have been used as proof of English proficiency by colleges and universities that are looking for students to meet certain English-speaking requirements.
The company employs over 500 globally, most of whom work out of its Pittsburgh headquarters. Duolingo posted $88.4 million in total revenue during its most recent quarter, up from the $58.8 million it posted year-over-year.
