Preply has raised $150 million in a Series D funding round led by WestCap, valuing the online language learning platform at $1.2 billion, the company announced this week. Goldman Sachs International served as the placement agent for the transaction.
The funding will be used to strengthen Preply’s AI-supported learning platform, expand its engineering and product teams, and accelerate global growth, as demand for personalized language education continues to rise.
Founded as a one-on-one language learning marketplace, Preply connects learners with tutors across more than 90 languages, supporting over 100,000 teachers and students in 180 countries. The platform combines human instruction with AI-driven tools designed to personalize lessons, track progress, and improve learning outcomes across its AI-powered workforce and systems.
According to HolonIQ, around 1.8 billion people worldwide are currently working to learn a second language, highlighting the scale of the market Preply is targeting. The global live language learning market is projected to reach $227 billion by 2035, having already tripled over the past five years.
Since its Series C round, Preply has added more than 40 new languages, significantly expanded its tutor base, and reported positive EBITDA over the last 12 months, the company said.
With the new capital, Preply plans to further invest in data and artificial intelligence capabilities, enhance user experience across the platform, and expand internationally. The company said the goal is to scale personalized learning while maintaining a human-first approach, even as it integrates more automation and intelligence across its AI-driven networks.
WestCap, which led the round, brings experience in scaling global online marketplaces such as Airbnb and StubHub. Existing investors including Horizon Capital and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development also participated in the funding.
“We feel deeply responsible for how people learn in the future,”
said Kirill Bigai, Co-founder and CEO of Preply.
“By combining the world’s best teachers with AI, we can deliver learning experiences that were previously out of reach. This funding allows us to continue building at the intersection of human teaching and artificial intelligence.”