Native Speakers: What First Mover Language Apps Can Teach Every EdTech About AI

Language learning apps didn't just add AI — they rebuilt around it earlier than almost anyone else in education. Before most of the industry had figured out what AI-native education even meant, these companies were already building it: conversational practice, real-time feedback, deep personalization, and continuous engagement baked in from the start. In that sense, they're the field's native speakers — fluent in capabilities that everyone else is still learning to use.But fluency comes with hard lessons. The category previews where every AI-native education company is headed: explosive growth, intensifying competition, and the challenge of building sustainable businesses when AI commoditizes core features overnight. This panel explores what language learning's breakthroughs — and market battles — reveal about building AI-native education companies in an era of rapid technological change.