Head of the language learning provider Babbel: “Maybe we will build our own language model”
The Berlin-based language learning provider Babbel struggled after the short-term cancellation of its multi-billion dollar IPO in the fall. Sales increased by 31 percent to 250 million euros last year, said company boss Arne Schepker in an interview with the Handelsblatt: “That’s even more growth than during the pandemic.”
Babbel is benefiting from the economic crisis, as more people want to arm themselves and educate themselves, as well as from the AI hype surrounding ChatGPT, which is causing more interest in the English language.
Over the years, Babbel has invested several million euros to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) more closely into its own offering. For example, avatars are possible that help and motivate during practice. “We will certainly soon be launching corresponding features,” announces Schepker. AI-based speech recognition will also be added soon.
Schepker left open whether Babbel wanted to use an existing language model like ChatGPT. “Perhaps we will also build our own specific language model.” A similar approach was taken when developing speech recognition.
Read the full interview here: