Language learning marketplace Preply’s unicorn status embodies Ukrainian resilience

Summary

Language learning marketplace Preply is now valued at $1.2 billion after raising a $150 million Series D round that marks a new chapter 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 tutors since 2013, it has now been EBITDA profitable for twelve months. Not coincidentally, it has also ramped up AI integration to support its 100,000 tutors and continue scaling. That’s a fine line — Duolingo faced backlash after declaring it would become an “AI-first company,” and tutors have been a key differentiator for Preply. The company is adamant it won’t replace them — but AI can also bring consistency to a model that relies on self-employed instructors. The future of learning “is going to be human-guided and amplified by AI,” Preply CEO Kirill Bigai told TechCrunch. According to Bigai, Preply already applies AI to features such as lesson summaries and homework, but also to match learners to tutors that best fit their needs. To further develop these capabilities, he said Preply is now hiring AI talent across its four offices — Barcelona, London and New York but also Kyiv, which the company hasn’t left despite the Russian invasion. Although Preply is headquartered in the U.S., where it got its first start, Bigai and his cofounders are Ukrainian and the company has been very actively supporting their home country. They have been doing that in several ways since the war started, including as an employer. “We are very committed [to the] Ukrainian office,” said Bigai. Out of Preply’s 750 employees, approximately 150 people work from Kyiv, despite Russian strikes regularly forcing them into shelters and causing power outages that have made the current freezing winter particularly challenging. “Our office has different generators so we have electricity, Internet, and the office is warm and it’s open 24/7 so any Ukrainian team member can come to the...