What lingvano does

Lingvano is a Vienna-based e-learning platform founded in 2018 that teaches sign languages through mobile and web applications. It serves two primary customer segments: individual learners who want to acquire conversational proficiency in American Sign Language (ASL), British Sign Language (BSL), or Austrian Sign Language (ÖGS) for personal, family, or community reasons, and organizations seeking workplace accessibility and inclusion training. The company reports more than 4 million registered learners worldwide and a 4.9/5 rating across 46,000+ app store reviews.

The core product, the Lingvano App, is a mobile-first platform (iOS, Android, and desktop web) that delivers interactive lessons, diverse exercise types including sentence ordering, typing, real-life dialogue videos, vocabulary builders, and numbers practice, plus flashcards and live practice sessions led by Deaf tutors. The technical differentiator is a proprietary sign recognition system that uses computer vision to analyze users' hand shape and motion during fingerspelling and provide instant correctness feedback. A dedicated organizational tier, Lingvano for Business, layers an admin dashboard, employee progress analytics, and workplace-specific content onto the consumer product.

Lingvano operates a freemium consumer subscription model with premium paid terms of 1, 3, or 12 months and distributes through its own website (processed via Paddle) and the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. The business tier uses volume-based pricing starting at 10 accesses with tiered discounts and a direct sales motion. The company is self-funded by learner subscriptions rather than external venture capital, has won the Zero Project 2024 Award and Expo Awards 2025, and has been featured by Apple as a developer reaching the ASL community.

Name

lingvano

Legal name

Lingvano GmbH

Website

https://lingvano.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Lingvano is a Vienna-based, self-funded e-learning platform that teaches ASL, BSL, and Austrian Sign Language to over 4 million individual learners and organizations worldwide via mobile and web apps using proprietary sign recognition technology and workplace accessibility training.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sign Language E-Learning

NAICS

Language Schools (611630), Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Online Language Learning Platforms (Self-Paced) (EDAMAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate & Workforce Language Training Platforms (EDAFAOAJ), Language Learning Tutoring Marketplaces (Conversation & Exam-Oriented) (EDANAGAG), Language & Cross-Cultural Training (BPACANAL)

Keywords

• Sign language learning
• Online education platform
• Mobile e-learning
• Subscription learning app
• Accessibility training

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Premium Subscription (Consumer): Subscription-based revenue model with a free basic tier and premium paid subscriptions. Premium contracts are offered with automatic renewal for fixed terms (1, 3, or 12 months). Users can purchase via the website (processed through Paddle payment processor) or via mobile apps (processed through Apple App Store or Google Play Store).
2. Business/Organizational Access Licenses: Organizations purchase bulk access licenses for employees. Plans start at 10 accesses with pricing tiers based on volume, where purchasing more accesses leads to larger discounts. Includes admin dashboard for tracking employee progress.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Lingvano operates an online and mobile sign language learning platform that delivers interactive lessons in ASL, BSL, and ÖGS, with proprietary sign recognition technology providing instant feedback on fingerspelling and live practice sessions led by Deaf tutors. It sells subscriptions directly to individual learners through web and mobile apps and offers a separate organizational tier with admin dashboards and volume-based pricing for businesses, schools, healthcare, retail, government, and nonprofits.

Product overview

Lingvano is a unified e-learning platform offering mobile (iOS/Android) and web applications for learning sign languages. The core product, the Lingvano App, provides interactive lessons with sign recognition feedback, diverse exercises, flashcards, achievements, and live signing sessions. A dedicated organizational tier, Lingvano for Business, serves teams with admin dashboards and workplace content. Lingvano covers three sign languages: ASL (American Sign Language), BSL (British Sign Language), and ÖGS (Austrian Sign Language), with over 4 million learners worldwide. The company is self-funded, having grown since 2018 primarily through learner subscriptions rather than external investment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lingvano App Online and mobile learning platform for sign languages featuring interactive lessons, sign recognition technology for instant fingerspelling feedback, real-life dialogues, diverse exercises, flashcards, achievements, and live signing practice sessions with Deaf tutors. Available on iOS, Android, and desktop web for individual learners.
• Lingvano for Business Organizational subscription tier offering workplace-specific sign language training for teams and companies. Includes an admin dashboard for tracking employee progress, analytics and reports, business unit covering professional vocabulary, and volume-based pricing starting at 10 accesses with discounts for larger seat counts. Targets schools, hospitals, corporate offices, retail, government, and nonprofits.
• Live Signing Practices Live video practice sessions led by Deaf Lingvano tutors, offered as group sessions with fellow learners or private one-on-one sessions for more focused, tailored instruction, scheduled through an online booking system.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4 million+ learners worldwide trust Lingvano for ASL learning
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Deafies in DragminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 July 2024Pride month collaboration featuring LGBTQIA2S+ sign language content and Deaf culture education through Instagram posts and social media content.
• Malley in LoveminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 July 2024Pride month partnership creating content about sign language learning and LGBTQIA2S+ identities.
• Pink Manta RayminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 July 2024Pride month collaboration focusing on building bridges through sign language learning and celebrating diversity.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Duolingo: Global leader in self-paced language learning apps. While currently focused on spoken languages, Duolingo has the scale, brand, and content engine to enter sign language instruction and would be a direct substitute if it expanded into the category.
• Babbel: Subscription-based spoken language learning platform with strong consumer brand. Comparable business model (subscription, mobile-first, freemium-ish) and target learner, though it does not currently cover sign languages.
• Rosetta Stone: Long-standing language learning brand with subscription consumer and enterprise tiers. Comparable enterprise sales motion, content library approach, and corporate training positioning, though currently focused on spoken languages.
• Memrise: Subscription language learning platform using video of native speakers and spaced repetition. Comparable freemium self-paced mobile model targeting individual language learners.

Direct peers

• Hand Talk: Sign language translation and learning app offering ASL and Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) via an animated virtual translator. Direct competitor in the sign language learning space with overlapping mobile-first, subscription-based delivery.
• SignAll: Computer-vision ASL translation technology company. Comparable in the application of AI/computer vision to sign language, though focused on translation rather than consumer learning; relevant for talent, IP, and partnership overlap.
• The ASL App: Mobile-first ASL learning app featuring Deaf teachers and short video lessons. Direct competitor in the consumer ASL learning category with a similar native-teacher approach.
• SignSchool: Browser-based ASL learning platform offering structured lessons and vocabulary. Comparable free-with-premium monetization targeting individual learners of ASL.

Emerging players

• Preply: Online tutoring marketplace for language learning with live tutor sessions. Comparable live-practice component of Lingvano (Deaf tutor sessions) and could plausibly onboard sign language tutors as supply expands.

Regional players

• GoStudent: Vienna-headquartered online tutoring marketplace with strong European footprint. Comparable regional base and enterprise/education sales motion, though primarily focused on academic tutoring rather than language instruction.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/lingvano
• Instagraminstagram.com/lingvano
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lingvano-gesbr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about lingvano