Rosetta Stone Acquires Youth-Focused Language-Learning Site, GoGo Lingo
Transcription
Rosetta Stone Acquires Youth-Focused Language-Learning Site, GoGo Lingo
Rosetta Stone Acquires Youth-Focused Language-Learning Site, GoGo Lingo ARLINGTON, Va. — April 25, 2012 – Rosetta Stone Inc. (NYSE: RST), the leading provider of technologybased language-learning solutions, today completed the acquisition of Los Angeles-based languagelearning site, Gogolingo.com, which began last December. Founded in 2008, GoGo Lingo developed the proprietary Playful Immersion™ method for Implicit Absorption™, to teach Spanish primarily through pictures and sounds to 3- to 7-year-old children. GoGo Lingo uses games, music and humor in an immersive environment to allow kids to comfortably learn a foreign language within a context that involves natural, stimulating and meaningful communication. The acquisition of GoGo Lingo will grant Rosetta Stone access to GoGo characters, a variety of games and activities, along with GoGo Lingo’s website infrastructure. Rosetta Stone hopes to incorporate many of these assets into future language-learning solutions. "Already, children around the world use Rosetta Stone solutions to learn languages; but we are always interested in novel approaches." said Greg Keim, Rosetta Stone's Chief Innovation Officer. "We have watched with interest GoGo Lingo's focus on leveraging fun and character in service of engaging young children in an online educational community. We expect their work to accelerate our research into child-specific solutions." GoGo Lingo began through research at Stanford University by founder and CEO Afsoun Yazdian. Yazdian later teamed up with co-founders Jason Leon and Dylan Squires, developers of popular children’s internet sites. In conjunction with language-learning experts across the US, the team created an experience that engages, entertains and educates children. "We started GoGo Lingo because we believe that teaching kids a foreign language at a young age will foster compassion through communication and will make the world a better place to live," said Yazdian. "We admire Rosetta Stone’s pioneering efforts in the language-learning field and we are so pleased that GoGo Lingo will influence the research and future products of their world-recognized brand." About Rosetta Stone Inc. Rosetta Stone Inc. provides interactive solutions and cutting-edge technology that is changing the way the world learns languages. Rosetta Stone’s proprietary learning techniques are acclaimed for the power to unlock the natural language-learning ability in everyone. The company offers many languages, from the most commonly spoken, like English, Chinese (Mandarin) and Spanish, to the less widely used, like Swahili and Filipino (Tagalog). Rosetta Stone solutions are used by schools, businesses, global organizations and millions of individuals in more than 150 countries throughout the world. The company was founded in 1992 on the core beliefs that learning a language should be natural and instinctive and that interactive technology can replicate and activate the immersion method powerfully for learners of any age. The company is based in Arlington, Va. For more information, visit RosettaStone.com. "Rosetta Stone” is a registered trademark of Rosetta Stone Ltd. SOURCE: Rosetta Stone Inc. Investor Contact: Steve Somers, CFA ssomers@RosettaStone.com 703-387-5876 Media Contact: Cherelle Washington Cherelle@FinnPartners.com 212-593-6352 ###