Language Learning Market Preply’s unicorn status embodies Ukrainian resilience

Language learning market Prepare is now valued at $1.2 billion after raising a $150 million Series D that marks a new round of capital for the 14-year-old company, whose previous backers include Horizon Capital, Hoxton Ventures, Owl Ventures and Techstars Berlin.

While Preply has been connecting language learners with teachers since 2013, it has now been EBITDA profitable for twelve months. Not coincidentally, it has also stepped up its AI integration to support its 100,000 teachers and continue scaling.

It’s a fine line — Duolingo faced backlash after declaring it would become an “artificial intelligence first company,” and tutors were a key differentiator for Preply. The company is adamant that it won’t replace them — but AI can also bring consistency to a model based on self-employed trainers. The future of learning “will be human-led and AI-enhanced,” Preply CEO Kirill Bigai told TechCrunch.

According to Bigai, Preply is already applying AI to features like course summaries and homework, but also to match learners with tutors that best suit their needs. To further develop those capabilities, he said Preply is now hiring AI talent in its four offices — Barcelona, ​​London and New York and also in Kiev, which the company has not abandoned despite the Russian invasion.

Even though Preply is based in the US, where it got it first bootBigai and his co-founders are Ukrainian and the company has been very active supporting their country. They have been doing this in various ways since the war began, including as an employer. “We are very committed [to the] Ukrainian office,” Bigai said.

Of Preply’s 750 employees, about 150 work from Kyiv, despite Russian strikes that regularly force them into shelters and causing power outages which have made the current freezing winter particularly challenging. “Our office has different generators, so we have electricity, internet, and the office is warm and open 24/7, so any member of the Ukrainian team can come to the office at any time,” Bigai said.

These employees may be grateful to Preply — but Bigai is grateful to them and has a deep admiration for his people. “Ukrainians are going through very difficult times, and this creates an important resilience and creativity,” he said. The need to adjust to the reality and uncertainty of war also transformed Preply. “I think the fact that the company went through that experience — and how so many people helped other people — made us stronger, more resilient, more creative,” he added.

With its new funding, the edtech company now joins the growing group of unicorns with Ukrainian roots, including Fintech-IT Group and Grammarly. But it may also follow in the footsteps of Airbnb, whose former CFO Laurence Tosi led a Series D through his equity development company, WestCap. While Bigai said Preply does not yet have a timeline or specific IPO plans, he noted WestCap’s “phenomenal experience in [taking] companies to the public, which is one of the things we will continue to think about.”