About
From college friends to rethinking language learning, human connections, and replacing doom scrolling for millions.
From college friends to rethinking language learning, human connections, and replacing doom scrolling for millions.
Sure, you can use your AirPods to translate speech. But where language doesn’t exist, culture doesn’t. That’s not a future we want - especially in a world that’s getting lonelier. Connection is beautiful.
Parrot’s mission is bigger than language learning: we’re here to connect people by breaking down language barriers. Every conversation unlocked is a doorway to culture, family, friendship, and belonging.
Each year, over 1.5 billion people try to learn a new language - most give up. Why? Tools that aren’t effective, experiences that aren’t engaging, and progress that doesn’t feel real. Meanwhile, loneliness and depression keep climbing worldwide. Translation tech is getting better, but it can’t replace the spark of speaking someone’s language and being understood.
So we built Parrot to turn doomscrolling into learning. Bite-size lessons that feel like a feed, powered by proven acquisition methods and playful game loops - so progress is addictive, not a chore. One swipe, one phrase, one real connection at a time.
Our story started at the University of British Columbia. Amir, Erik, and Julia met in an entrepreneurship class; before Parrot, we built all kinds of projects - some wins, plenty of flops - but we learned we loved building together. Erik’s obsession with learning languages made the gap obvious: the market leader wasn’t actually helping people speak. We knew we could do better.
Parrot is how we make the world a little less lonely and a lot more connected - by helping you talk to people, not just translate them.
