In January 2026, Preply announced a $150 million Series D that valued the language-learning marketplace at $1.2 billion — making it one of a growing cohort of unicorns with Ukrainian roots. For Kirill Bigai, who co-founded Preply in Kyiv in 2012 at the age of 26, the milestone carried extra weight: roughly 150 of his 750 employees continue to work from the Kyiv office, navigating air raid alerts and power outages as Russia’s war grinds on. TechCrunch sat down with Bigai to understand how the company got here, and where it goes next.
Preply has just closed a $150 million Series D at a $1.2 billion valuation. What does this milestone mean to you personally, given the context of the war?
It’s a milestone we’re very proud of, but the context does make it feel different. For years we have been building through the most challenging circumstances imaginable. Our team in Kyiv keeps going despite Russian strikes, blackouts, air raid shelters becoming part of the work routine. So this is not just a financial milestone — it is a statement about the resilience of the people who built it.
The edtech space is deeply polarised right now. Duolingo faced backlash after leaning hard into AI-first. You have taken a different path. Why?
Our position is clear: the future of learning is going to be human-guided and amplified by AI. That’s not a marketing line — it comes from what we actually see in the data. When a learner works with a real tutor who adjusts to their needs, motivates them, holds them accountable, the outcomes are fundamentally better than any fully automated system. AI makes those interactions better and more scalable. It doesn’t replace them.
“The future of learning is going to be human-guided and amplified by AI.”
What does “amplified by AI” look like in the product today?
We’re already applying AI in several ways: lesson summaries so tutors spend less time on admin, AI-generated homework tailored to each learner, and smarter matching — using signals from hundreds of data points to connect a learner with the tutor most likely to help them succeed. With the new funding we are now hiring AI talent across our four offices to push all of this further. Barcelona, London, New York, and Kyiv.
You mentioned Kyiv. Preply is headquartered in the United States but you have kept a significant presence in Ukraine throughout the war. Why not relocate the team entirely?
We are very committed to the Ukrainian office. Around 150 people out of our 750 employees work from Kyiv. Yes, there are Russian strikes, there are power outages, especially during winter. So we have set up the office with generators — it has electricity, internet, and it stays warm, and it is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so any Ukrainian team member can come any time they need to. We will not abandon that team.
Has the experience of the war changed how you think about building a company?
Profoundly. Ukrainians are going through very challenging times, and it builds a significant resilience and creativity. I think the fact that the company went through this experience — and how so many people helped other people — made us stronger, more resilient, more creative. That’s not something you can teach in a business school. You see people continuing to do their best work in situations that would shut down most organisations. It changes what you believe is possible.
“Ukrainians are going through very challenging times, and it builds a significant resilience and creativity.”
Preply is 14 years old and has been profitable at the EBITDA level for a year. That is unusual in the growth-at-all-costs era. Was that always the plan?
We were always focused on capital efficiency. It’s been 14 years, and the majority of the previous raise was still in the bank when we closed this round. That kind of discipline comes from having to be resourceful. It also means this capital is not a lifeline — it’s fuel for growth we have already validated.
WestCap led this round. They have deep experience taking companies public. Are you thinking about an IPO?
We have no timeline and no concrete plans. What I can say is that WestCap has phenomenal experience in taking companies public, and that is one of the things we will continue to think about as we grow.