Busuu is a language learning platform on web, iOS and Android that allows users to interact with native speakers.^[5] In 2021, Chegg acquired Busuu for $436 million.^[6]

Busuu was founded in May 2008 by Bernhard Niesner and Adrian Hilti. The company launched with a free version of its website and opened its first office in Madrid. In 2009, Premium membership was introduced to access to all features on the platform and in 2010, the first Busuu mobile app was launched.^[7]

Busuu is named after the endangered language Busuu, spoken in Cameroon. According to an ethnological study conducted in the 1980s, only eight people at that time were still able to speak this language.^[8] In 2010, Busuu created a short language course to encourage people to learn the Busuu language using Busuu.^[9]

After closing a Series A round of 3.5 million euros from PROfounders Capital and private investors in 2012, Busuu further improved the functionalities of the platform and increased its global market share.^[10] During that year, the company moved its offices and staff to a London based office. The head office of Busuu has remained in London ever since.

In May 2016, the company launched Busuu for Organisations, the language learning platform for universities and businesses.^[11] Using the platform, organisations can give their students or employees access to Busuu Premium. The platform allows organisations to view learner's progress and use of the app over time. Personalised courses have been created for organisations such as Uber. This included lessons about the specific contexts an Uber driver would encounter with their passengers.^[12]

In 2016, it was a launch partner for Google Home Assistant, offering voice-activated lessons in Spanish; in 2017,^[13] it launched a virtual reality app for learning Spanish, available for the Oculus Gear and Oculus Go,^[14] and in 2018, Busuu launched a comprehension test for the Amazon Alexa platform.^[15]

On November 29, 2021, education technology company Chegg announced it would acquire Busuu for approximately $436 million (€385 million) with the deal expected to close in early 2022.^[16]

In 2016, researchers from City University of New York and the University of South Carolina conducted a study into the efficacy of Busuu's courses. The results stated that learning a language for 22 hours with Busuu Premium was equivalent to sitting one college semester.^{[22][better source needed]}

Later in 2016, Busuu worked with a senior lecturer at The Open University to find out about the behaviour of language learners on the platform. The results showed 82% of Busuu learners confirmed that Busuu helped to improve their language learning.^[23]

• Community language learning
• Language education