Rosetta Stone Inc. is an American education technology software company that develops language, literacy and brain-fitness software. Best known for its language-learning products, in 2013, the company expanded beyond language into education-technology with its acquisitions of Livemocha, Lexia Learning, Fit Brains, and Tell Me More. In 2021, it became a subsidiary of IXL Learning.

History

Beginnings

According to the company, originator Allen Stoltzfus learned German through

immersion Immersion may refer to: The arts * "Immersion", a 2012 story by Aliette de Bodard * ''Immersion'', a French comic book series by Léo Quievreux * ''Immersion'' (album), the third album by Australian group Pendulum * ''Immersion'' (film), a 2021 ...

while living in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

and found it relatively easy. In the 1980s, Stoltzfus began learning Russian in a classroom setting, but found the classroom setting much more difficult. He wanted to simulate the German experience, and he decided to use computer technology to create a similar learning experience. He enlisted the aid of his brother-in-law, John Fairfield, who held a PhD in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

. By 1992, CD-ROM technology made the project possible. Allen and John, along with Eugene Stoltzfus (Allen's brother), formed a company known as Fairfield Language Technologies in

Harrisonburg, Virginia Harrisonburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is also the county seat of the surrounding Rockingham Cou ...

. They hired Greg Keim and Michael Silverman along with other significant team members. They released their software product under the title The Rosetta Stone.

2000s and IPO

In 2003, the company announced the hiring of Tom Adams, a businessman with international experience, as president and CEO. In 2004, Rosetta Stone Ltd. established its Endangered Language Program to contract with

endangered language An endangered language or moribund language is a language that is at risk of disappearing as its speakers die out or shift to speaking other languages. Language loss occurs when the language has no more native speakers and becomes a " dead langua ...

communities interested in custom

software development Software development is the process of designing and Implementation, implementing a software solution to Computer user satisfaction, satisfy a User (computing), user. The process is more encompassing than Computer programming, programming, wri ...

to support

language revitalization Language revitalization, also referred to as language revival or reversing language shift, is an attempt to halt or reverse the decline of a language or to revive an extinct one. Those involved can include linguists, cultural or community group ...

efforts. In 2006, the company changed names to Rosetta Stone, Ltd., and converted from an

S corporation An S corporation (or S Corp), for United States federal income tax, is a closely held corporation (or, in some cases, a limited liability company (LLC) or a partnership) that makes a valid election to be taxed under Subchapter S of Chapter 1 of t ...

to a

C corporation A C corporation, under Income tax in the United States, United States federal income tax law, is any corporation that is taxed separately from its owners. A C corporation is distinguished from an S corporation, which generally is not taxed separ ...

. Ownership transferred to investment firms

ABS Capital Partners ABS Capital Partners is an American private equity firm focused on investments in software and tech-enabled services businesses across a range of industries, including FinTech, Healthcare, EdTech, eCommerce, cybersecurity, and Smart Cities. Found ...

and Norwest Equity Partners. On September 23, 2008, Rosetta Stone Inc. filed an

Initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

with the

Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

. On April 15, 2009, the company was listed as the Rosetta Stone on the New York Stock Exchange, raising $112 million in its

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

of stock shares. In its first full day of trading on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

, the stock gained 39% from its opening price.Stock Coverage of Rosetta Stone at Wikinvest
/ref> After a strong opening, however, the stock stumbled amid reports of weaknesses in Rosetta Stone's US business, resulting in the cancellation of a second offering, and a disappointing year end price just 5 cents off its opening price. The stock traded under ticker symbol RST. As of December 2015, the stock was at approximately $29.2 (

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

) per share.

2010s

In 2013, it acquired four companies—Vivity Labs Inc (creators of the Fit Brains Trainer), Livemocha, Tell Me More, and Lexia Learning. On September 17, 2013, Rosetta Stone announced the launch of a new Kids Division. In November 2014, it debuted its first kids reading program for consumers, Rosetta Stone Kids Reading. Since 2016, the company's president and CEO has been John Hass. Rosetta Stone is transitioning to a cloud-based business model that goes beyond language learning and deeper into education technology.

Acquisition by Cambium

On August 31, 2020, Rosetta Stone announced that they had entered an agreement to be acquired by

Cambium Learning Group Cambium Learning Group is an American education technology and services company that creates computer software and hardware products serving students ranging from pre-kindergarten to adult. Cambium Learning is a portfolio company of Verit ...

for $792 million.

Acquisition by IXL Learning

On March 17, 2021, Rosetta Stone was acquired by IXL Learning from Cambium Learning Group.

Offices

Corporate headquarters Corporate headquarters is the part of a corporate structure that deals with tasks such as strategic planning, corporate communications, taxes, law, books of record, marketing, finance, human resources, and information technology. Corporate headqu ...

are in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

. *There are also offices in

;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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; and

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South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

References

External links

Rosetta Stone website

nbsp;—

Hoover's D&B Hoovers was founded by Gary Hoover and Patrick Spain in 1990 as an American business research company that provided information on companies and industries through their primary product platform named "Hoover's". In 2003, it was acquired b ...

Rosetta Stone company profile
nbsp;—

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"Rosetta Stone Inc. IPO"
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosetta Stone (Company) Companies based in Arlington County, Virginia Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Software companies based in Virginia Educational software companies Private equity portfolio companies Education companies established in 1992 Software companies established in 1992 1992 establishments in Virginia 2008 initial public offerings Software companies of the United States 2020 mergers and acquisitions 2021 mergers and acquisitions Language education publishing companies Rosetta Stone in popular culture Educational technology companies of the United States