Founder of language startup LinguaLeo detained for murder

On Friday, May 3, operatives detained a resident of Bashkiria, who confessed to the murder of his sister. The 34-year-old creator of the popular service for learning languages ​​LinguaLeo, Ainur Abdulnasyrov, was detained.

Details

The Investigative Committee for Bashkiria reported that the body of a 47-year-old woman with signs of violent death was found the day before, May 2, in a private house in Dyurtyuli (100 km from Ufa). “It was established that the accused, while at his home in the village of Dyurtyuli, during a quarrel with his sister, inflicted several stab wounds on her, from which she died on the spot ... The accused did not hide from law enforcement officers and confessed to his deed,” reads TFR message.

• The TFR did not name the detainee, but, according to TASS, this is the creator of LinguaLeo, Ainur Abdulnasyrov. This was confirmed by the Mash Telegram channel.
• According to Mash, Abdulnasyrov's sister Elvira was in conflict with her brother and was under psychiatric care.
• A criminal case was initiated under Part 1 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code (“Murder”).

old startup

Abdulnasyrov founded LinguaLeo in 2009 using funds from the sale of the first language project he created as a sophomore at the HSE business incubator. At first, LinguaLeo developed with the money of the founder and business angels. In 2012, Runa Capital , a venture capital investment fund , came to it, investing $3 million when valuing the company with 300,000 users at $15 million.

Now the application for learning languages ​​in a playful way is used by more than 18 million people around the world. The basic version of the application is free, the annual course costs 4000 rubles. The company's financial performance is not disclosed. in 2016 The founder himself said that he expects a $1 billion valuation by 2026.