Ukrainian edtech Preply opens US office and undergoes rebranding

Ukrainian EdTech platform for learning foreign languages Preply has opened its first American office. It is located in New York, in the local co-working space The Malin. The company’s press service informed “Forbes Ukraine” about the news.

• The USA is the third country after Ukraine and Spain where Preply has physical offices.
• The company has about 600 employees in 30 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the United States, the company told the journalists. According to the startup’s forecasts, at least 25 employees will work in the American office by the end of the year. The company added that since July 2022, their team has increased by more than 20%.
• Chief Brand Officer Sofia Tavares and Chief Revenue Officer Jerry Kingkade have joined the US office team.
• Preply plans to expand its presence in the US, writes Forbes, quoting Kingkade: “Up to 75% of working Americans believe that foreign language skills are important to their career opportunities. As we launch our US presence in New York, we look forward to gaining momentum, serving the needs of this working-age population, and playing a role in filling a specific vacancy in the labor market.”
• Currently, about 40,000 tutors with students from 180 countries use the platform. Most students are from the USA, Germany, Poland, Great Britain, and Canada.

Rebranding

In addition to launching the new location, Preply also announced a rebranding and a new visual style for the project. The new look of the brand was developed by the London agency Koto.

“Continuing with our brand idea, repetition has become a key component of our visual identity. We use it as a graphic tool to reinforce the concept of practice, progress, growth, and transformation. This is perfectly reflected in our logo, typography, and use of illustrations,”

Sofia Tavares, marketing director, commented on the new visual style.

What is the Preply valuation?

EdTech startup Preply, founded in 2013 by Ukrainians Kyryl Bigai, Serhii Lukianov, and Dmytro Voloshyn, has been growing rapidly. Over the past three years, the company’s revenues have increased tenfold due to user experience improvements for both teachers and students.

In July 2023, Preply raised $70 million in the form of equity and loan capital, these funds became part of the C round, the total amount of which is $120 million.

Despite the fact that the co-founders do not disclose the valuation of the company, according to the trusted website Pitchbook, it may be worth $440 million as of July 2023.

• The European service Dealroom indicates that Preply’s current valuation is $432 million. It is assessed considering the entire C round of $120 million.
• At the same time, CBInsights wrote that Preply’s valuation was close to $400 million as early as of 2022, after raising $50 million.

Earlier, the uninvolved investors were interviewed by the editors of AIN.Capital, reported that after the last round, Preply’s valuation exceeded $500 million and may be in the $500 million — $600 million range. According to one of the interviewees, the company’s valuation may even exceed $600 million. Considering the fact that Preply did not even have time to use the funds from the previously raised $50 million and is currently an attractive business for investors.