Markus Witte started Babbel in Berlin in 2007 with Lorenz Heine, Thomas Holl and Toine Diepstraten. The company was first called Lesson Nine GmbH. Witte was CEO from the start.
A free community beta went live in January 2008. Babbel then built a paid subscription business around lessons based on real conversation. By 2022 revenue was about €247 million, and the app is one of the largest paid language apps in the world.
Witte stepped down as CEO in 2019 and Arne Schepker took over. In 2020 the staff elected a works council. In 2022 Babbel gave free access codes to Ukrainian refugees, and in 2023 it acquired Toucan.
Witte returned as CEO in October 2024. In mid-2025 Tim Allen became CEO and Witte became Chairman of the Supervisory Board.