Preply has raised $150 million in a Series D funding round led by WestCap, valuing the global language learning marketplace at $1.2 billion and marking its transition into unicorn territory.
The round, for which Goldman Sachs International acted as sole placement agent, will be used to accelerate product development, expand Preply’s AI and data capabilities and fuel international growth as the company seeks to reshape education through personalised, tutor-led learning supported by artificial intelligence.
Founded as an online language tutoring marketplace, Preply now connects more than 100,000 tutors with learners in 180 countries, offering one-to-one lessons across more than 90 languages. Its model blends human instruction with an AI-powered tutoring co-pilot designed to track progress, surface insights and automate administrative tasks, allowing tutors to focus on teaching and learners to progress faster.
The funding comes amid strong growth in global demand for language learning. According to data from HolonIQ, around 1.8 billion people worldwide are currently working towards proficiency in a second language. The global direct-to-consumer language learning market is forecast to reach $227 billion by 2035, following threefold growth over the past five years.
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