Babbel co-founder

Lorenz Heine's role at Babbel

He is one of four co-founders of the Berlin language-learning company, with the title Chief Innovation Officer.

Lorenz Heine is a co-founder of Babbel, the Berlin language-learning company. He has held the title Chief Innovation Officer.

Babbel began in 2007 as Lesson Nine GmbH. Heine started it with Markus Witte, Thomas Holl and Toine Diepstraten, four colleagues from a Berlin software company. In January 2008 the free community beta went live.

The company chose to charge for lessons instead of living on advertising. In 2013 it bought PlaySay, a San Francisco startup, to enter the US market. In 2023 it bought Toucan.

Leadership at the top changed in these years. Witte stepped down as CEO in 2019, returned in October 2024, and became Chairman of the Supervisory Board in mid-2025.

Read the full Babbel founder story

What is Lorenz Heine's role at Babbel?

Lorenz Heine is a co-founder of Babbel. He has held the title Chief Innovation Officer.

Who founded Babbel with Lorenz Heine?

Babbel was founded in Berlin in 2007 by four colleagues from a Berlin software company: Markus Witte, Lorenz Heine, Thomas Holl and Toine Diepstraten. The company was first called Lesson Nine GmbH.