Toucan raises $3M to teach you new languages
Summary
Think of it as a browser-based version of language flashcards.The startup was founded by CEO Taylor Nieman, CTO Shaun Merritt and CPO Brandon Dietz. She told me that one thing she learned from across all those experiences is habit formation how hard it actually is to do anything that steals peoples time.Dietz made a similar point, arguing that while language learning software like Rosetta Stone and Duolingo has had its share of success, Its just such a high ask to get people to change their behavior and go to this one website, particularly on a daily basis.So Toucan is designed to help users learn a new language (it currently supports Spanish, French, Italian, German and Portuguese) while they browse the web as they normally would, without having to change their behavior.Nieman said the extension can be used to solidify and expand your vocabulary as you take digital or in-person classes. Or if youre not taking classes, you can still use Toucan on its own, and it can help you achieve (as Dietz put it) that magic moment of realizing you know a few words in other peoples languages.To ensure accuracy, the company works with teams of translators, including college professors and students, while also employing natural language processing to understand the context in which words are appearing. In fact, the Toucan team has gifted me the word writer but since ownership is currently free, I guess its not a bribe?Eventually, the company could charge people and businesses to own (a.k.a. And eventually, Nieman said the startup could apply the same approach to other subjects, history or science or math or general knowledge.
Funding
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