Language learning marketplace Preply’s unicorn status embodies Ukrainian resilience

Language learning platform Preply has reached a $1.2 billion valuation after securing $150 million in a Series D funding round, marking a significant milestone for the 14-year-old company. The latest raise opens a new phase for the business, which has previously counted Horizon Capital, Hoxton Ventures, Owl Ventures, and Techstars Berlin among its investors.

Founded in 2013, Preply has spent more than a decade building a global marketplace that connects language learners with tutors. Over the past year, the company has also achieved EBITDA profitability, a key indicator of its growing financial stability. At the same time, Preply has been accelerating its use of artificial intelligence better to support its network of more than 100,000 tutors while continuing to scale its operations.

Striking the right balance between technology and human instruction remains critical. Other language-learning platforms, such as Duolingo, have faced criticism for embracing an “AI-first” approach. At the same time, Preply’s reliance on human tutors has long been a defining feature of its model. The company insists that AI is meant to enhance, not replace, instructors. Instead, it is being used to introduce greater consistency and efficiency into a system built around self-employed educators. Preply’s CEO, Kirill Bigai, has emphasised that the future of education will remain “human-guided,” with AI serving as a powerful amplifier rather than a substitute.

Currently, Preply already deploys AI across several areas, including generating lesson summaries, assigning homework, and improving tutor-learner matching based on individual needs and preferences. To further expand these capabilities, the company is actively recruiting AI talent across its offices in Barcelona, London, New York, and Kyiv. Notably, Preply has maintained its presence in Kyiv despite the ongoing Russian invasion, underscoring its continued commitment to Ukraine.

Although the company is officially headquartered in the United States, where it first gained traction, Preply’s leadership team is Ukrainian, and the company has actively supported its home country since the war began. This support has taken multiple forms, including continued employment opportunities. Bigai has reiterated the company’s strong dedication to its Ukrainian operations.

Out of Preply’s 750 employees worldwide, around 150 are based in Kyiv. These team members continue their work amid frequent Russian strikes that often force them into shelters and cause power outages, conditions made even more difficult by the current harsh winter. To support them, Preply has equipped its Kyiv office with multiple generators, reliable internet access, and heating, keeping the space open around the clock so employees can work safely whenever needed.

While employees may appreciate the company’s efforts, Bigai has expressed deep respect and gratitude toward his Ukrainian team. He has spoken about how the extreme challenges faced by Ukrainians have fostered extraordinary resilience and creativity. According to him, adapting to the uncertainty and hardship of war has fundamentally reshaped Preply itself. The collective experience of supporting one another during such a crisis, he said, has made the company stronger, more adaptable, and more innovative.

With its latest funding round, Preply joins a growing group of unicorns with Ukrainian roots, alongside companies such as Fintech-IT Group and Grammarly. The Series D was led by WestCap, a growth equity firm headed by former Airbnb CFO Laurence Tosi. While Bigai noted that Preply has no fixed timeline or concrete plans for an initial public offering, he highlighted WestCap’s extensive experience in guiding companies toward public markets, calling it an essential consideration for the future.