Babbel bought language extension Toucan's technology after the startup had wound down

Subscription language-learning service buying a browser extension that swaps words on web pages for translations

A free language extension can feed Babbel's paid app with new users and keep non-subscribers in touch

Toucan had raised about $30 million, including a $20 million Series A; the deal price was not disclosed

Toucan was a well-funded language learning browser extension in 12 languages including Mandarin, Japanese and Hindi, some of which Babbel does not teach. Despite 300,000+ downloads on the Chrome Web Store, a 4.7/5 rating and about $30M raised, it wound down as a company in 2023 though its service stayed online.

Babbel's US CEO Julie Hansen said it wanted a freemium service for users not ready for the paid app, and lifecycle marketing. Babbel had postponed its 2021 IPO, and its CEO then said it would look for acquisitions; an earlier acquisition, LingoVentura, shut down when COVID closed language travel.

On 19 September 2023 Babbel announced it had acquired Toucan's technology only; none of Toucan's co-founders or employees would join. It would run it as 'Toucan by Babbel', move all paid features into the free tier and later integrate it with the Babbel app. Hansen said Babbel's revenue was about $270M last year, up 32% from 2021.

Toucan could not become a profitable business despite about $30M raised and a good rating

Babbel does not need Toucan to be profitable, since it can serve as a referral engine

A free tier keeps in touch with users not ready for a paid subscription

Babbel's CEO had said in 2021 that it would look for acquisitions after postponing its IPO

A subscription service can buy a failed free product as a top-of-funnel channel, because it does not need the product to make a profit on its own.

As of 2023-09-19, Babbel owned Toucan's technology and ran it as 'Toucan by Babbel' with its paid features free, and planned to integrate it with the Babbel app; the price was not disclosed.