Duolingo Doubles Down on Delight with Acquisition of Music Gaming Startup NextBeat鈥檚 Innovative Team
Duolingo (Nasdaq: DUOL) has acquired the team behind NextBeat, a London-based music gaming startup, to enhance its Music course offering. The acquisition brings 23 expert professionals specializing in game design, user retention, monetization, sound design, and music licensing.
This strategic move establishes Duolingo's first official presence in the UK and demonstrates the company's commitment to making music education more engaging through gamification. The integration aims to leverage NextBeat's expertise to enhance the learning experience for millions of existing Duolingo Music users since its beta launch.
Duolingo (Nasdaq: DUOL) ha acquisito il team di NextBeat, una startup londinese specializzata in giochi musicali, per potenziare la sua offerta nel corso di musica. L'acquisizione porta con s茅 23 professionisti esperti nel design di giochi, fidelizzazione degli utenti, monetizzazione, progettazione del suono e licenze musicali.
Questa mossa strategica segna la prima presenza ufficiale di Duolingo nel Regno Unito e dimostra l鈥檌mpegno dell鈥檃zienda nel rendere l鈥檈ducazione musicale pi霉 coinvolgente attraverso la gamification. L鈥檌ntegrazione punta a sfruttare l鈥檈sperienza di NextBeat per migliorare l鈥檈sperienza di apprendimento di milioni di utenti di Duolingo Music fin dal lancio in beta.
Duolingo (Nasdaq: DUOL) ha adquirido al equipo detr谩s de NextBeat, una startup londinense de juegos musicales, para mejorar su oferta en el curso de m煤sica. La adquisici贸n incorpora a 23 profesionales expertos en dise帽o de juegos, retenci贸n de usuarios, monetizaci贸n, dise帽o de sonido y licencias musicales.
Esta estrategia establece la primera presencia oficial de Duolingo en el Reino Unido y demuestra el compromiso de la compa帽铆a por hacer la educaci贸n musical m谩s atractiva mediante la gamificaci贸n. La integraci贸n busca aprovechar la experiencia de NextBeat para mejorar la experiencia de aprendizaje de millones de usuarios actuales de Duolingo Music desde su lanzamiento beta.
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Duolingo (Nasdaq : DUOL) a acquis l鈥櫭﹒uipe derri猫re NextBeat, une startup londonienne sp茅cialis茅e dans les jeux musicaux, afin d鈥檈nrichir son offre de cours de musique. Cette acquisition int猫gre 23 professionnels experts en conception de jeux, r茅tention des utilisateurs, mon茅tisation, design sonore et licences musicales.
Cette d茅marche strat茅gique 茅tablit la premi猫re pr茅sence officielle de Duolingo au Royaume-Uni et t茅moigne de l鈥檈ngagement de l鈥檈ntreprise 脿 rendre l鈥櫭ヾucation musicale plus ludique gr芒ce 脿 la gamification. L鈥檌nt茅gration vise 脿 exploiter l鈥檈xpertise de NextBeat pour am茅liorer l鈥檈xp茅rience d鈥檃pprentissage de millions d鈥檜tilisateurs actuels de Duolingo Music depuis son lancement en version b锚ta.
Duolingo (Nasdaq: DUOL) hat das Team hinter NextBeat, einem in London ans盲ssigen Musik-Gaming-Startup, 眉bernommen, um sein Musik-Kursangebot zu erweitern. Die 脺bernahme bringt 23 Experten mit Fachkenntnissen in Spieldesign, Nutzerbindung, Monetarisierung, Sounddesign und Musiklizenzierung mit sich.
Dieser strategische Schritt markiert die erste offizielle Pr盲senz von Duolingo im Vereinigten K枚nigreich und zeigt das Engagement des Unternehmens, Musikbildung durch Gamification ansprechender zu gestalten. Die Integration soll die Expertise von NextBeat nutzen, um das Lernerlebnis f眉r Millionen bestehender Duolingo Music-Nutzer seit dem Beta-Start zu verbessern.
- Acquisition of 23 specialized experts in gaming and music
- Strategic expansion with first UK presence
- Enhancement of existing Music course with proven gaming expertise
- Access to NextBeat's music licensing and game design capabilities
- No financial terms disclosed
- Integration of new team may require time and resources
Insights
Duolingo's acquisition of NextBeat's team strengthens their music course offering and expands UK presence, enhancing their gamification strategy.
Duolingo's acquisition of NextBeat's team represents a strategic talent acquisition rather than a traditional business purchase. The company is gaining 23 specialists in game design, user retention, monetization, sound design, and music licensing - all critical components for enhancing their existing Music course offering.
This move serves multiple strategic purposes. First, it addresses specific expertise gaps in music gaming and licensing that Duolingo likely couldn't efficiently build in-house. Second, it establishes Duolingo's first official UK presence, positioning them in a key European creative talent market. Third, it reinforces Duolingo's core competitive advantage - turning educational content into engaging, game-like experiences.
The acquisition signals Duolingo's commitment to diversifying beyond its language learning foundation. With "millions of learners already using Duolingo Music" since its beta launch, this vertical has shown promising early traction. NextBeat's team should accelerate this momentum through improved gamification, potentially leading to stronger user engagement metrics and monetization opportunities.
The talent-focused nature of this deal suggests it's likely a smaller financial transaction than a full company acquisition would be, though no financial terms were disclosed. For Duolingo, which has historically grown through organic product development rather than acquisitions, this talent infusion represents an evolution in their growth strategy that leverages external expertise while maintaining their distinctive culture and product philosophy.
London-based team brings deep expertise in music games, licensing, and interactive design
PITTSBURGH, Aug. 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Duolingo, Inc. (Nasdaq: DUOL), the world鈥檚 leading mobile learning platform, announced today it has acquired the team behind NextBeat, a London-based music gaming startup known for blending world-class music licensing with engaging mobile gameplay. With this move, Duolingo is investing in making its Music course as fun and joyful as the best mobile games in the market.
鈥淟earning should be just as engaging as playing a great game, whether you鈥檙e practicing a new language or playing a favorite song,鈥� said Bob Meese, Chief Business Officer at Duolingo. 鈥淭his is a strategic bet on talent. The NextBeat team brings deep mobile gaming and music industry expertise, which will make our Music course and the entire Duolingo platform more delightful, immersive, and effective.鈥�
The acquisition of NextBeat鈥檚 team brings twenty-three world-class experts in areas such as game design, user retention and monetization, sound design, and music licensing. Their expertise will power the next chapter of Duolingo鈥檚 gamified learning experiences, with a focus on building upon Duolingo鈥檚 Music course. The move also establishes Duolingo鈥檚 first official presence in the UK, a hub of creativity and talent.
鈥淔rom day one, it was clear that Duolingo and NextBeat share the same values: putting learners first, obsessing over great design, and never taking ourselves too seriously,鈥� said Simon Hade, CEO of NextBeat. 鈥淛oining forces means we can bring our passion for music and play to a platform that is redefining how people learn.鈥�
With millions of learners already using Duolingo Music since its beta launch, this acquisition signals Duolingo鈥檚 ambition to make music education more engaging and accessible with a product that is both playful and effective.
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 with 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 NextBeat
NextBeat is a London-based music-first gaming studio founded by serial entrepreneurs Simon Hade, Olly Barnes & Joe Adams. The company is best known for the hit games Beatstar and Country Star, which were spun out of Space Ape Games upon its acquisition by mobile gaming giant Supercell. The hit mobile rhythm games reached over 100 million downloads and generated nearly
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