logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2025
57m 51s

S8E8: Luis von Ahn Is Making Screen Time...

StanfordGSB
About this episode
Duolingo’s co-founder and CEO shares his thoughts on leadership, AI, and the company’s mischievous mascot. 
Up next
Today
S9E8: Tekedra Mawakana Wants to Build the ‘World’s Most Trusted Driver’
When Tekedra Mawakana told her mother she was thinking about taking a job at Waymo, her mom had a question: “Who is going to get in those cars?” The company, which calls itself the “world’s first autonomous ride-hailing service,” currently operates self-driving, for-hire vehicles ... Show More
59m 9s
Aug 12
S9E7: David Rubenstein on Leading the Parade
David Rubenstein, co-founder and co-chairman of the Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest private equity firms, was the first person in his family to go to college. Born to blue-collar parents in Baltimore, Maryland, he didn't set out to be an investor. “I was always interest ... Show More
1 h
Jul 1
S9E6: Daniela Amodei Says Curiosity Is Underrated
Daniela Amodei and her brother Dario lead Anthropic, one of the world’s biggest and most influential AI companies. It wasn’t in her career plan. “I really think of myself as a generalist,” Amodei tells Gintare Zukauskaite, MBA ’26, in a conversation recorded live at Stanford Grad ... Show More
1 h
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2024
Why Duolingo Worked (with Luis von Ahn, CEO)
Duolingo has fundamentally changed the landscape of self-guided education, starting with language learning. It is now a $9B publicly traded company in a space where everyone thought you could never build a large and exciting company. We’re joined by Duolingo founder and CEO, Luis ... Show More
1h 1m
Mar 2017
Cracking the ed-tech market
Duolingo cofounder and chief executive Luis von Ahn talks to the FT's Tim Bradshaw about creating the snackable language learning app that now serves more than 150m global users, and how the company's model can be translated into other digital education tools.<hr><p style='color: ... Show More
34m 38s
Apr 2025
Exclusive 🦉 “Education Super App” — Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn announces next product on TBOY
How do you get someone to learn everyday? Make it addictive… in a good way. Luis von Ahn has mastered engagement with Duolingo, transforming it into the largest education app on earth with over 40M daily users. And in our exclusive interview, Duolingo CEO announces the next produ ... Show More
52m 55s
Aug 2025
How to make learning as addictive as social media | Luis von Ahn (re-release)
When technologist Luis von Ahn was building the popular language-learning platform Duolingo, he faced a big problem: Could an app designed to teach you something ever compete with addictive platforms like Instagram and TikTok? He explains how Duolingo harnesses the psychological ... Show More
13m 52s
Oct 2021
A masterclass in crowdsourcing, w/Duolingo's Luis von Ahn
Crowdsourcing is more than a group of people interested in the same cause, it’s a way to tap skills – and scale – that you don’t have. And when it works, it can be the rocket fuel that launches you to scale further than you could have ever imagined. No one knows this better than ... Show More
39m 13s
May 2020
A masterclass in crowdsourcing, w/Duolingo's Luis von Ahn
Crowdsourcing is more than a group of people interested in the same cause, it’s a way to tap skills – and scale – that you don’t have. And when it works, it can be the rocket fuel that launches you to scale further than you could have ever imagined. No one knows this better than ... Show More
39m 13s
Dec 2023
reCAPTCHA and Duolingo: Luis von Ahn (2020)
In 2000, Luis von Ahn was starting his PhD in computer science when he attended a talk and happened to learn about one of Yahoo's biggest problems: automated bots were signing up for millions of free Yahoo email accounts, and generating tons of spam. Luis' idea to solve this prob ... Show More
1h 7m
Aug 2025
How to make learning as addictive as social media | Luis von Ahn (re-release)
When technologist Luis von Ahn was building the popular language-learning platform Duolingo, he faced a big problem: Could an app designed to teach you something ever compete with addictive platforms like Instagram and TikTok? He explains how Duolingo harnesses the psychological ... Show More
13m 52s
Dec 2023
How to make learning as addictive as social media | Luis von Ahn
When technologist Luis von Ahn was building the popular language-learning platform Duolingo, he faced a big problem: Could an app designed to teach you something ever compete with addictive platforms like Instagram and TikTok? He explains how Duolingo harnesses the psychological ... Show More
14m 46s