Preply is an online, language-learning marketplace that connects learners and tutors by using a machine-learning-powered algorithm to recommend a tutor for each student.[4]
 | |
| Type of business | Private |
|---|---|
Type of site | Educational |
| Available in | English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, Spanish |
| Traded as | Preply Inc. |
| Headquarters | Brookline, United States |
| Country of origin | Ukraine[1] |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Founder(s) | Kirill Bigai, Dmytro Voloshyn, Serge Lukianov |
| CEO | Kirill Bigai |
| Industry | Language learning |
| Services | Education service |
| Employees | 500+ |
| URL | https://preply.com/ |
| Launched | November 1, 2012 |
| Current status | Active |
| Native client(s) on | iOS[2] and Android[3] |
Preply has grown from a team of 3 to a company of over 500 employees of 60 different nationalities; with offices in Barcelona, New York and Kyiv, employees work across 30 countries in Europe, USA, Africa, Asia and Latin America.[5][6][7]
History
editThe company was founded in 2012 by Ukrainian entrepreneurs Kirill Bigai, Serge Lukyanov and Dmytro Voloshyn. The website, preply.com, was launched in November 2013.[1]
On August 31, 2013, Preply became a leading Ukrainian educational startup after an initial angel investment of $180,000 from Semyon Dukach, Borya Shakhnovich, Vadim Yasinovsky, Dan Pasko, Torben Majgaard and Vostok Ventures.[8][9]
In 2013, the company started its expansion into the markets of other Eastern European countries, namely Belarus, Kazakhstan, Poland and Russia.[9]
In 2016, the Preply platform was updated with a new ranking algorithm based on machine learning and used for classifying and recommending tutors.[10] Preply raised $1.3 million in funding from investors like Techstars, SMRK VCDigital and Arthur Kosten. The team experienced significant growth, with the employee count reaching 100, marking a seven-fold increase in less than three years.[11]
In 2018, Preply Classroom (formerly Preply Space) was launched as the all-in-one language learning ecosystem with the integrated video platform, online chat, screen sharing, and more.[12]
In 2019, Preply entered the Spanish market after opening an office in Barcelona, and from there it further expanded its services into British and German markets.[10]
In March 2021, Preply had accumulated a total of $50.6 million in investments through 8 funding rounds; in July 2022, an additional $50 million of investment were raised.[13][14]
In August 2023, Preply extended their series C with an additional $70-million raise led by Horizon Capital and announced in tandem with the launch of an AI assistant. In that same year, the company opened an office in New York City.[15][16]
Product
editPreply’s product is based on AI-powered human tutoring. The company uses a machine-learning algorithm to increase matching efficiency between learners and tutors on a variety of parameters such as price, availability, country of birth, other languages spoken, learning objectives, and more.[17]
Preply offers classes in 50 languages, with tutors functioning as independent contractors who set their own rates and schedules.[18]
Pricing
editPreply allows tutors on the platform to set their own pricing and charges tutors a commission for each lesson.
For every trial lesson with a new student Preply’s commission is 100%.
For all the subsequent lessons, Preply charges a percentage (18%-33%) of the hourly rate.
| Completed hours | Commission rate |
|---|---|
| 0 - 20 hours | 33% |
| 21 - 50 hours | 28% |
| 51 - 200 hours | 25% |
| 201 - 400 hours | 22% |
| 400+ hours | 18% |
In addition to the commission Preply charges, they also inflate the tutor's set pricing to make additional profits.
For example; a tutor with 150 hours who has set their pricing at $10 per 50 minutes may be marketed to students at $14 per 50 minutes. Preply then takes the $4 markup and $2.50 commission.
Recognition
editIn May 2020, Preply won “The Revenue Hack of 2020” at the Ukrainian Startup Awards.[19]
References
edit- ^ a b "More than 10.000 hours of lessons a month are taught on Preply". 150sec. 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
- ^ "Preply: Learn languages". App Store. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
- ^ "Preply: Learn any language - Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
- ^ Wallen, Joe. "Ed-Tech Firm Preply Announces European Expansion After Successful Summer Funding". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
- ^ "About us | Preply". preply.com. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
- ^ Ghosh, Shona. "Language-learning marketplace Preply raises $35 million led by Silicon Valley investors". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
- ^ Mergermarket. "Language Learning Apps Are Seeing A Surge In Interest During The COVID-19 Pandemic". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
- ^ "Большие надежды. ТОП-30 стартапов украинского интернета". 19 October 2012.
- ^ a b Digital, Ukraine (2015-02-02). "Ukrainian online tutoring platform Preply enters Polish market |". Retrieved 2021-10-27.
- ^ a b "Preply pulls in $1.3M to expand its tutoring marketplace in Europe". TechCrunch. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
- ^ Lomas, Natasha (2016-06-07). "Preply pulls in $1.3M to expand its tutoring marketplace in Europe". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
- ^ "Preply: A global marketplace for tutoring · Showcases · Techukraine". Techukraine. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
- ^ "Ukrainian edtech startup Preply raises €29.5M to prep its online language learning platform for recent growth | Silicon Canals". 9 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
- ^ Browne, Ryan (2023-07-19). "Ukrainian-founded Duolingo rival Preply banks $70 million to push into A.I." CNBC. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
- ^ "Ukrainian startup Preply beats the geopolitical odds with $50M to grow its language learning platform". TechCrunch. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
- ^ Lunden, Ingrid (2022-07-13). "Ukrainian startup Preply beats the geopolitical odds with $50M to grow its language learning platform". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
- ^ "Online tutoring marketplace Preply banks $10M to fuel growth in North America, Europe". TechCrunch. 30 March 2020. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
- ^ Tucker, Charlotte (2021-03-10). "Barcelona and Kyiv-based Preply raises €29.4 million to grow its online language learning platform". EU-Startups. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
- ^ "TechUkraine news - Winners of the Ukrainian Startup Awards 2020 · Techukraine". Techukraine. 2021-06-01. Retrieved 2021-10-27.