Luis von Ahn

Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn claims his 'AI-first company' memo was misunderstood externally and reiterates the company has not laid off full-time employees despite contractor workforce fluctuations.

“Duolingo CEO clarifies that his 'AI-first company' memo was misunderstood and defends the company's AI strategy and employment practices.”

Duolingo's AI-first strategy sparked public backlash, prompting the company to scale back social media presence, which slowed user growth to 40% but financial results remained strong with Q2 revenue up 41% to $252.3 million.

“CEO who issued April memo on making company 'AI-first' and acknowledged backlash; stated viral posts will return but team being cautious”

Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn revealed the company curtailed edgy social media posts after backlash over his AI-first memo, which impacted daily active user growth to the lower end of forecasts despite 41% revenue growth.

“Outlined mandatory AI usage policy for hiring and performance reviews, later curbed edgy social media posts after backlash.”