| Preply | |
| Company Type: | Private |
| Traded As: | Preply Inc. |
| Country: | Brookline, United States |
| Country Of Origin: | Ukraine[1] |
| Area Served: | Worldwide |
| Founder: | Kirill Bigai, Dmytro Voloshyn, Serge Lukianov |
| Ceo: | Kirill Bigai |
| Industry: | Language learning |
| Services: | Education service |
| International: | yes |
| Employees: | 500+ |
| Url: | https://preply.com/ |
| Website Type: | Educational |
| Language: | English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish |
| Current Status: | Active |
| Native Clients: | iOS[2] and Android[3] |
Preply is an online, language-learning marketplace that connects learners and tutors by using a machine-learning-powered algorithm to recommend a tutor for each student.[4]
Preply has grown from a team of 3 to a company of over 500 employees of 60 different nationalities; with offices in Barcelona, New York and Kyiv, employees work across 30 countries in Europe, USA, Africa, Asia and Latin America.[5] [6] [7]
The company was founded in 2012 by Ukrainian entrepreneurs Kirill Bigai, Serge Lukyanov and Dmytro Voloshyn. The website, preply.com, was launched in November 2013.[8]
On August 31, 2013, Preply became a leading Ukrainian educational startup after an initial angel investment of $180,000 from Semyon Dukach, Borya Shakhnovich, Vadim Yasinovsky, Dan Pasko, Torben Majgaard and Vostok Ventures.[9] [10]
In 2013, the company started its expansion into the markets of other Eastern European countries, namely Belarus, Kazakhstan, Poland and Russia.
In 2016, the Preply platform was updated with a new ranking algorithm based on machine learning and used for classifying and recommending tutors.[11] Preply raised $1.3 million in funding from investors like Techstars, SMRK VCDigital and Arthur Kosten. The team experienced significant growth, with the employee count reaching 100, marking a seven-fold increase in less than three years.[12]
In 2018, Preply Classroom (formerly Preply Space) was launched as the all-in-one language learning ecosystem with the integrated video platform, online chat, screen sharing, and more.[13]
In 2019, Preply entered the Spanish market after opening an office in Barcelona, and from there it further expanded its services into British and German markets.
In March 2021, Preply had accumulated a total of $50.6 million in investments through 8 funding rounds; in July 2022, an additional $50 million of investment were raised.[14] [15]
In August 2023, Preply extended their series C with an additional $70-million raise led by Horizon Capital and announced in tandem with the launch of an AI assistant. In that same year, the company opened an office in New York City.[16] [17]
Preply’s product is based on AI-powered human tutoring. The company uses a machine-learning algorithm to increase matching efficiency between learners and tutors on a variety of parameters such as price, availability, country of birth, other languages spoken, learning objectives, and more.[18]
Preply offers classes in 50 languages, with tutors functioning as independent contractors who set their own rates and schedules.[19]
In May 2020, Preply won “The Revenue Hack of 2020” at the Ukrainian Startup Awards.[20]