Preply, a global online language learning platform headquartered in New York City, has raised US$150 million in its Series D funding round, valuing the company at US$1.2 billion.

Investors in the latest fundraising were led by WestCap, a growth equity firm with over US$6 billion in assets under management. Goldman Sachs International acted as the sole placement agent in the transaction.

Preply connects more than 100,000 tutors with learners in 180 countries, facilitating one-on-one lessons in more than 90 languages. Powered by a combination of human-led instruction and AI-supported tutoring co-pilot suite, the platform is redefining how people learn through high-quality, flexible and tailored learning experiences designed to drive real progress with every lesson, the company says.

The Series D fundraising comes at a time when an estimated 1.8 billion people, or roughly one in every four people worldwide, are actively striving to achieve proficiency in a second language, according to global education data platform HolonIQ. It is estimated that the global direct-to-consumer language learning market will reach US$227 billion by 2035, and has already delivered threefold growth over the last five years, with long-term forecasts indicating sustained, exponential growth in the years to come.

Since its Series C raise, Preply has more than tripled its number of bookable tutors and expanded its offering by adding over 40 new languages to the platform. In the last 12 months, the company continued to improve its financial performance and became Ebitda-positive. 

With this capital, and the support of new and existing investors, such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ( EBRD ) and Horizon Capital, Preply plans to advance its AI and data capabilities, expand its product and engineering teams to enhance the platform experience, and accelerate its global growth to reach more learners and tutors. The WestCap team, with its strong track record of building and scaling global marketplaces such as Airbnb and StubHub, will help Preply further deepen its impact worldwide.

"We feel extremely fortunate and deeply responsible for shaping how people will learn in the future,” says Preply co-founder and CEO Kirill Bigai. “We are happy to partner with the WestCap team, who has deep expertise in helping founders to build legendary world-changing brands. This investment will help us to continue to innovate at the intersection of human tutoring and AI, creating opportunities everywhere for people to connect, belong, succeed, and ultimately to progress in their lives no matter where they are in the world.”