Duolingo co-founder threatens to move jobs from Pittsburgh to Toronto over immigration policies

A founder of Pittsburgh’s prized tech startup, Duolingo, indicated Monday that harsh immigration policies could force him to move the company – and its jobs – to Canada.

Luis von Ahn wrote on Twitter that the Trump administration’s moves could cost Pittsburgh.

“I’m proud that Duolingo, the most valuable startup in PA, is seen as an inspiration for Pittsburgh,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, if the US policies against (extremely qualified) immigration continue, we’ll be forced to move jobs (and inspiration) to Toronto.”

Von Ahn tagged Mayor Bill Peduto and Sens. Bob Casey and Pat Toomey in the tweet.

Peduto responded, noting that “Duolingo isn’t alone.”

“Pittsburgh’s economy depends on attracting brightest minds from around the world,” he wrote. “That’s why corporate leaders, universities, Mayors, hospitals, foundations and non-profits are united in protecting the rights of immigrants and visa required to make Pittsburgh home.”

Casey said he “couldn’t agree more” with von Ahn’s sentiments.

“Our economy in Pittsburgh and across the Commonwealth depends on immigrants like Luis and the bright minds behind Duolingo,” he said in a statement, calling the student-visa policy an attack on international students.

Toomey late last month came out against a Trump decision to restrict some new employment visas, saying temporary nonimmigrant workers “help drive innovation and job creation.”

The tweet threatening to move the billion-dollar startup to Toronto came on heels of a tweet from von Ahn about international students in the United States on student visas being forced to go back to their home countries if their universities go to all online learning in the fall.

The company said late last year that it was worth $1.5 billion and had plans to increase its workforce by 50% — about 100 new jobs by the end of 2020.

Headquartered in East Liberty, the company’s language-learning app has more than 300 million users and offices in New York City, Seattle and Beijing.

Von Ahn last month was among a group of tech executives that pushed back last month about restrictions on employment-based visas laid out by the Trump administration, according to GeekWire.

The restrictions ban certain categories of visa through 2020, and they are an attempt to get companies to hire Americans out of work because of the covid-19 pandemic.