Language learning platform Preply has raised $150 million in a Series D funding round, reaching a $1.2 billion valuation and securing its place as the latest EdTech unicorn.
Led by WestCap, the round includes participation from returning investors like Horizon Capital Horizon Capital, Hoxton Ventures, Owl Ventures and Techstars Berlin, with new investors like the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and Goldman Sachs International acting as sole placement agent in the transaction.
This funding comes as investors reassess the role of AI in personalized learning and marks a significant milestone for the 14-year-old platform that easily connects learners with tutors.
The Kyiv-company, founded in 2012 by CEO Kirill Bigai alongside Dmytro Voloshyn (CTO), and Sergei Lukyanov (Head of Design), connects learners worldwide with independent tutors for personalized lessons in over 90 languages. Preply now boasts more than 100,000 tutors serving students across 180 countries.
The $150 million fresh capital will help the company pursue AI enhancements and team expansion, as Bigai told TechCrunch in a statement that the future of learning “is going to be human-guided and amplified by AI.”
The company’s AI strategy centers on enhancing rather than automating the learning experience. According to CEO Kirill Bigai, Preply already applies AI to features such as lesson summaries and homework, and to match learners to tutors who best fit their needs. Its model blends human instruction with an AI-powered tutoring assistant designed to track progress, provide insights and automate administrative tasks, which allows tutors to focus on teaching and learners to progress faster.
The company also has a track record of doing excellent things as they’ve achieved EBITDA profitability for 12 straight months, a feat only few EdTech peers can claim as they operate in a sector still grappling with high customer acquisition costs.
As part of the deal, Allen Mask, a partner at WestCap and former senior executive at Airbnb, will join Preply’s board.
Conversely, the investment arrives at a notable moment for EdTech funding, which has experienced significant turbulence in recent years. Venture capital investment in EdTech plummeted to its lowest level since 2014, reaching $2.4 billion in 2024 and representing a dramatic 89% decline from the 2021 peak.
However, recent data suggests the sector may be stabilizing. In 2024, U.S. EdTech companies raised over $2 billion, an improvement from 2023 that ended two years of decline. Global Edtech funding also increased from $5.6 billion in 2023 to $6.3 billion in 2024.
Originally based in Kyiv, Preply opened a new global headquarters in New York in 2023, 18 months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, though the company retains offices in Kyiv, Barcelona and London. Out of Preply’s 750 employees, approximately 150 people work from Kyiv, despite Russian strikes regularly forcing them into shelters and causing power outages. The company has joined the growing cohort of unicorns with Ukrainian roots, including Fintech-IT Group and Grammarly.
For now, Preply’s focus remains executing the vision that has carried the company to unicorn status, which is to prove that the future of learning lies at the intersection of human connection and artificial intelligence.
