Duolingo Inc., the East Liberty-based educational platform maker, announced it scored its first acquisition of another company, an animation and illustration firm based in Detroit called Gunner.
By acquiring Gunner, which Duolingo (NASDAQ: DUOL) declined to provide specific figures for, the Pittsburgh tech company is hoping to expand the development of its products and branding, which now moves to more in-house work.
Duolingo first enlisted Gunner's services in 2020 for art and animation elements found throughout Duolingo's flagship language learning application as well as its early childhood literacy app, Duolingo ABC. Gunner has also produced brand marketing campaigns for Duolingo.
"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,” Luis von Ahn, co-founder and CEO of Duolingo, said in a prepared statement. "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."
All 15 Gunner employees will join Duolingo, which now opens a Detroit office — where these employees currently work — as a result of this acquisition. In addition to its Pittsburgh headquarters, Duolingo also maintains offices in New York and Seattle as well as abroad in Beijing, China, and Berlin, Germany.
Duolingo's employee count stands at over 600 workers around the world following the deal, of which an estimated 350 workers are based out of its Pittsburgh offices on Penn Avenue.
