Duolingo’s Luis von Ahn: “I Just Want to Have an Impact”
By
Brendan O’Boyle
The Guatemalan CEO of the mega-successful app is speaking out about inequality, corruption and more.
This article is adapted from AQ’s special report on the battle over fake news In 1996, Luis von Ahn’s life changed when a beloved aunt was kidnapped and held for a week, a trauma that convinced the high school senior to pursue college outside of Guatemala. But as the 17-year-old began applying to U.S. universities, he found a problem: Guatemala had run out of seats to take the required English proficiency test. He paid about $1,000 to fly to El Salvador to take the exam instead. The investment paid off: Von Ahn went on to earn his Ph.D. in computer science from...
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