‘More famous than Mickey Mouse’: Inside Duolingo’s ambitious plan for its viral owl mascot
On a Friday morning in mid-October, crowds of people—many in elaborate costumes—poured into the Jacob Javits convention center on Manhattan’s far west side. They were attending day two of New York Comic Con 2024, looking to pick up new releases of manga, get their hands on the latest Funko collectibles, and maybe even see a few celebrities. It was a star-studded event, after all, with guests that included WandaVision’s Elizabeth Olsen, Star Wars’s John Boyega, and Josh Brolin from Dune 2. But there was another celebrity with a long line of admirers: the Duolingo owl.Duo, the bright green, lovable-yet-devious mascot of the language learning app Duolingo, attended the event, posing for photos with adoring fans (and occasionally twerking). His appearance was part of a promotion for Duolingo’s new collaboration with the popular web-comic platform Webtoon on a five-episode series called Duo Unleashed!, starring Duo and his cast of friends.Lily, a 28-year-old Comic Con attendee from San Diego, waited patiently in a half-hour line for her chance at a photo with Duo. “I think the owl is hilarious. I’m chronically online, so I’m constantly seeing him on TikTok, on Instagram, on every platform that I have,” she said, adding that she couldn’t wait to flaunt the photo to her friends on Instagram. “We all want to dress up as him for Halloween, so they’re just gonna die when I show them this,” she said.Like Lily, most people who’ve opened TikTok in the last few years will be familiar with Duo. His antics on social media have run the gamut from declaring his love for Dua Lipa to confessing to holding the Teletubbies hostage in his basement. Duo’s chaotic TikTok persona blossomed during the pandemic, and he’s since amassed a head-turning 13.3 million followers on the platform. But over the past few months, Duo has become more ubiquitous outside of TikTok—so much so that he almost feels unavoidable. He’s been featured in a wacky Super Bowl ad; spotted in the crowd of Charli XCX’s Sweat Tour; and, now, appeared at Comic Con. Like Lily, most people who’ve opened TikTok in the last few years will be familiar with Duo. His antics on social media have run the gamut from declaring his love for Dua Lipa to confessing to holding the Teletubbies hostage in his basement. Duo’s chaotic TikTok persona blossomed during the pandemic, and he’s since amassed a head-turning 13.3 million followers on the platform. But over the past few months, Duo has become more ubiquitous outside of TikTok—so much so that he almost feels unavoidable. He’s been featured in a wacky Super Bowl ad; spotted in the crowd of Charli XCX’s Sweat Tour; and, now, appeared at Comic Con. Since 2023, Duo has been transforming from a standard brand mascot to a celebrity in his own right with his own dedicated fanbase. As the Duolingo app expands its reach, its mascot is becoming more and more integral to the brand. On a recent episode of the Acquired podcast, Duolingo cofounder and CEO Luis von Ahn acknowledged that roughly 15% of the app’s users on any given day are there because of the owl, which he estimates to be worth “hundreds of millions of dollars” to the company. Today, Duo has layers of lore and motivations, which build him into a compelling figure on socials, in the app, in brand partnerships, and even in the real world. He’s setting a new playbook for the modern mascot—and dragging language learners along with him.Behind Duo’s ambitious plans for global domination Duo’s transformation in recent months is part of the app’s playbook for exponential growth. The company, which was founded in 2011, went public in July 2021 with 38 million monthly active users and 2 million paying subscribers. Today, it has more than 113 million monthly active users and 8.6 million paying subscribers, and is the world’s most popular education app. For the first nine months of 2024, revenue was up 42% year over year, from $380 million to $538 million. The company’s stock, meanwhile, has surged more than 40% this year. Duolingo has been driving this growth with an ambitious strategy. First, the company is leaning into generative AI features through a partnership with OpenAI, which has allowed it to add an AI-powered subscription tier and create new course content in less time. In September, Duolingo launched a video call feature for its highest subscription tier, which allows users to engage an animated chatbot in a “spontaneous, free-flowing conversation” in whatever language they’re learning. The chatbot takes the form of an eye-rolling emo girl named Lily, yet another character in the Duo universe. (The company is so bullish on this feature that it allowed Lily to deliver the opening remarks in its most recent earnings call.) @duolingo i am vengeance I AM THE NIGHT #batman #duolingo #languagelearning ♬ original sound – contact.high Duolingo is also investing more in global markets, directing resources toward English learners in countries like China, India, Mexico, and Japan.
Tomas Kauer - News Moderator 
On a Friday morning in mid-October, crowds of people—many in elaborate costumes—poured into the Jacob Javits convention center on Manhattan’s far west side. They were attending day two of New York Comic Con 2024, looking to pick up new releases of manga, get their hands on the latest Funko collectibles, and maybe even see a few celebrities. It was a star-studded event, after all, with guests that included WandaVision’s Elizabeth Olsen, Star Wars’s John Boyega, and Josh Brolin from Dune 2. But there was another celebrity with a long line of admirers: the Duolingo owl.Duo, the bright green, lovable-yet-devious mascot of the language learning app Duolingo, attended the event, posing for photos with adoring fans (and occasionally twerking). His appearance was part of a promotion for Duolingo’s new collaboration with the popular web-comic platform Webtoon on a five-episode series called Duo Unleashed!, starring Duo and his cast of friends.Lily, a 28-year-old Comic Con attendee from San Diego, waited patiently in a half-hour line for her chance at a photo with Duo. “I think the owl is hilarious. I’m chronically online, so I’m constantly seeing him on TikTok, on Instagram, on every platform that I have,” she said, adding that she couldn’t wait to flaunt the photo to her friends on Instagram. “We all want to dress up as him for Halloween, so they’re just gonna die when I show them this,” she said.Like Lily, most people who’ve opened TikTok in the last few years will be familiar with Duo. His antics on social media have run the gamut from declaring his love for Dua Lipa to confessing to holding the Teletubbies hostage in his basement. Duo’s chaotic TikTok persona blossomed during the pandemic, and he’s since amassed a head-turning 13.3 million followers on the platform. But over the past few months, Duo has become more ubiquitous outside of TikTok—so much so that he almost feels unavoidable. He’s been featured in a wacky Super Bowl ad; spotted in the crowd of Charli XCX’s Sweat Tour; and, now, appeared at Comic Con. Like Lily, most people who’ve opened TikTok in the last few years will be familiar with Duo. His antics on social media have run the gamut from declaring his love for Dua Lipa to confessing to holding the Teletubbies hostage in his basement. Duo’s chaotic TikTok persona blossomed during the pandemic, and he’s since amassed a head-turning 13.3 million followers on the platform. But over the past few months, Duo has become more ubiquitous outside of TikTok—so much so that he almost feels unavoidable. He’s been featured in a wacky Super Bowl ad; spotted in the crowd of Charli XCX’s Sweat Tour; and, now, appeared at Comic Con. Since 2023, Duo has been transforming from a standard brand mascot to a celebrity in his own right with his own dedicated fanbase. As the Duolingo app expands its reach, its mascot is becoming more and more integral to the brand. On a recent episode of the Acquired podcast, Duolingo cofounder and CEO Luis von Ahn acknowledged that roughly 15% of the app’s users on any given day are there because of the owl, which he estimates to be worth “hundreds of millions of dollars” to the company. Today, Duo has layers of lore and motivations, which build him into a compelling figure on socials, in the app, in brand partnerships, and even in the real world. He’s setting a new playbook for the modern mascot—and dragging language learners along with him.Behind Duo’s ambitious plans for global domination Duo’s transformation in recent months is part of the app’s playbook for exponential growth. The company, which was founded in 2011, went public in July 2021 with 38 million monthly active users and 2 million paying subscribers. Today, it has more than 113 million monthly active users and 8.6 million paying subscribers, and is the world’s most popular education app. For the first nine months of 2024, revenue was up 42% year over year, from $380 million to $538 million. The company’s stock, meanwhile, has surged more than 40% this year. Duolingo has been driving this growth with an ambitious strategy. First, the company is leaning into generative AI features through a partnership with OpenAI, which has allowed it to add an AI-powered subscription tier and create new course content in less time. In September, Duolingo launched a video call feature for its highest subscription tier, which allows users to engage an animated chatbot in a “spontaneous, free-flowing conversation” in whatever language they’re learning. The chatbot takes the form of an eye-rolling emo girl named Lily, yet another character in the Duo universe. (The company is so bullish on this feature that it allowed Lily to deliver the opening remarks in its most recent earnings call.) @duolingo i am vengeance I AM THE NIGHT #batman #duolingo #languagelearning ♬ original sound – contact.high Duolingo is also investing more in global markets, directing resources toward English learners in countries like China, India, Mexico, and Japan.
