Ukrainian-founded · Unicorn
Preply
Preply is a Ukrainian-founded language-learning marketplace that became a unicorn in January 2026 after raising a $150 million Series D led by WestCap at a $1.2 billion valuation.
- Stage
- Series D ↗
- Hiring
- Hiring ↗
- Founded
- 2012
- Location
- New York · Barcelona · London
- Focus
- Edtech · Language learning
- Ukraine presence
- Engineering and company roots in Kyiv
- Status
- Active
Why it’s hot
$150M Series D at a $1.2B valuation in January 2026; EBITDA-positive with learners and tutors across 180 countries.
Ukrainian connection
Preply’s official history traces the company to founders from Kyiv and an early product and team built in Ukraine. The company maintains a Kyiv engineering presence while operating globally.
Founders
Kirill Bigai
Co-founder and CEO · Ukrainian founder who grew up in Kyiv.
LinkedIn profile ↗Dmytro Voloshyn
Co-founder and CTO · Ukrainian co-founder who helped build Preply’s early team in Kyiv.
LinkedIn profile ↗Sources
We use public primary sources where possible and identify exactly what each source supports.
- Preply company history ↗Preply · Supports: founders, Ukraine connection, company history, global presence.
- Preply raises $150M and becomes a unicorn ↗Preply · Supports: funding, valuation, momentum, product.
Last reviewed: August 7, 2026. Read the methodology.