<s>
Babbel	B-Application
GmbH	O
,	O
operating	O
as	O
Babbel	B-Application
,	O
is	O
a	O
German	O
subscription-based	B-Architecture
language	B-Application
learning	I-Application
software	I-Application
and	O
e-learning	O
platform	O
,	O
available	O
in	O
various	O
languages	O
since	O
January	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Babbel	B-Application
is	O
operated	O
by	O
Babbel	B-Application
GmbH	O
in	O
Berlin	O
,	O
Germany	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Babbel	B-Application
has	O
around	O
450	O
full-time	O
employees	O
and	O
freelancers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2008	O
,	O
Kizoo	O
Technology	O
Ventures	O
and	O
IBB	O
Beteiligungsgesellschaft	O
mbH	O
became	O
Babbel	B-Application
's	O
first	O
investors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Then	O
,	O
in	O
2009	O
,	O
Babbel	B-Application
was	O
granted	O
roughly	O
one	O
million	O
euros	O
by	O
the	O
ERDF	O
European	O
Structural	O
Fund	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
product	O
version	O
,	O
Babbel	B-Application
2.0	O
,	O
went	O
online	O
in	O
November	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
that	O
time	O
Babbel	B-Application
's	O
founders	O
decided	O
against	O
an	O
advertising	O
and	O
mixed-finance	O
model	O
(	O
freemium	O
)	O
,	O
opting	O
for	O
paid	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2013	O
,	O
Babbel	B-Application
acquired	O
San	O
Francisco	O
startup	O
PlaySay	O
Inc	O
.	O
to	O
expand	O
into	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
acquisition	O
,	O
PlaySay	O
Founder	O
and	O
CEO	O
Ryan	O
Meinzer	O
joined	O
Babbel	B-Application
as	O
a	O
strategic	O
advisor	O
for	O
its	O
US	O
operations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2015	O
,	O
Babbel	B-Application
opened	O
an	O
office	O
in	O
New	O
York	O
City	O
with	O
the	O
aim	O
of	O
expanding	O
its	O
presence	O
in	O
the	O
US	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
January	O
2017	O
,	O
Babbel	B-Application
,	O
Inc.	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
US	O
subsidiary	O
,	O
has	O
been	O
led	O
by	O
Julie	O
Hansen	O
,	O
CEO	O
U.S.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2021	O
,	O
Babbel	B-Application
launched	O
Babbel	B-Application
Live	O
,	O
offering	O
online	O
tutoring	O
classes	O
to	O
customers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Babbel	B-Application
is	O
a	O
premium	O
,	O
subscription-based	B-Architecture
language	O
learning	O
app	O
for	O
web	O
,	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
Android	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Babbel	B-Application
currently	O
offers	O
15	O
different	O
languages	O
from	O
seven	O
display	O
languages	O
(	O
German	O
,	O
English	O
(	O
US	O
+	O
UK	O
)	O
,	O
French	O
,	O
Spanish	O
,	O
Brazilian	O
Portuguese	O
,	O
Italian	O
and	O
Swedish	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Babbel	B-Application
's	O
original	O
learning	O
content	O
is	O
developed	O
in-house	O
by	O
a	O
team	O
of	O
over	O
100	O
educators	O
and	O
linguists	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2017	O
,	O
Babbel	B-Application
announced	O
that	O
it	O
had	O
partnered	O
with	O
Cambridge	O
English	O
Language	O
Assessment	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
low-cost	O
online	O
English	O
test	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Every	O
test	O
features	O
about	O
70	O
questions	O
from	O
a	O
bank	O
of	O
hundreds	O
of	O
options	O
which	O
—	O
like	O
Babbel	B-Application
's	O
lesson	O
content	O
—	O
reflect	O
real-life	O
communicative	O
situations	O
,	O
including	O
recordings	O
of	O
radio	O
broadcasts	O
and	O
conversations	O
for	O
listening	O
tasks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
word	O
Babbel	B-Application
is	O
derived	O
from	O
the	O
Hebrew	O
verb	O
בָּלַל	O
(	O
bālal	O
)	O
,	O
meaning	O
to	O
jumble	O
or	O
to	O
confuse	O
your	O
words	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
also	O
a	O
pun	O
on	O
the	O
biblical	O
Tower	B-Application
of	I-Application
Babel	I-Application
—	O
a	O
gigantic	O
ziggurat	B-Application
whose	O
construction	O
was	O
interrupted	O
when	O
the	O
workers	O
 '	O
languages	O
were	O
made	O
mutually	O
unintelligible	O
by	O
God	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Babbel	B-Application
is	O
also	O
a	O
homophone	O
and	O
anagram	O
of	O
the	O
English	O
verb	O
babble	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Babbel	B-Application
's	O
content	O
marketing	O
arm	O
publishes	O
a	O
digital	O
magazine	O
with	O
written	O
and	O
video	O
content	O
in	O
seven	O
different	O
languages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
topics	O
range	O
from	O
behind-the-scenes	O
looks	O
at	O
how	O
Babbel	B-Application
lessons	O
are	O
created	O
to	O
profiles	O
of	O
Babbel	B-Application
customers	O
and	O
language	O
learning	O
tips	O
from	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
didactics	O
team	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
2016	O
,	O
Babbel	B-Application
launched	O
a	O
television	O
ad	O
campaign	O
in	O
the	O
UK	O
and	O
Europe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
the	O
familiar	O
cinematic	O
worlds	O
of	O
different	O
countries	O
,	O
we	O
show	O
Babbel	B-Application
customers	O
playing	O
out	O
their	O
own	O
unique	O
language-speaking	O
fantasies.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
PC	O
Magazine	O
gave	O
Babbel	B-Application
a	O
mostly	O
positive	O
review	O
,	O
stating	O
it	O
was	O
reasonably	O
priced	O
and	O
well-structured	O
,	O
but	O
more	O
challenging	O
for	O
beginners	O
than	O
similar	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
New	O
York	O
Times	O
 '	O
Ali	O
Watkins	O
described	O
Babbel	B-Application
as	O
"	O
approachable	O
and	O
simple.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2011	O
,	O
Babbel	B-Application
was	O
awarded	O
the	O
"	O
Comenius	O
EduMedia	O
Seal	O
"	O
and	O
the	O
"	O
Erasmus	O
EuroMedia	O
Seal	O
of	O
Approval	O
"	O
for	O
"	O
Babbel	B-Application
for	O
Companies	O
“	O
courses	O
targeted	O
at	O
the	O
business	O
sector	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2013	O
,	O
Babbel	B-Application
received	O
the	O
"	O
digital	O
2013	O
"	O
award	O
and	O
the	O
"	O
Innovate	O
4	O
Society	O
"	O
award	O
at	O
CeBIT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2016	O
,	O
Fast	O
Company	O
recognized	O
Babbel	B-Application
as	O
the	O
most	O
innovative	O
company	O
in	O
education	O
.	O
</s>
