This article is a part of Poland Unpacked. Weekly intelligence for decision-makers
Ukrainian-born Preply, a marketplace for learning foreign languages, has raised USD 150m in a Series D round led by the investment firm WestCap. The deal lifted the company’s valuation to USD 1.2bn, making Preply another global unicorn.
Preply has attracted the attention of international investors for years. To date, the company has raised a total of USD 299m. Its backers have included the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Horizon Capital. Polish funds and individual investors have also played a part in its success. Among them are Hedgehog Fund, Inovo.vc, Przemysław Gacek, co-founder of Grupa Pracuj, Wiktor Namysł, now a partner at Orbit Capital, and Mariusz Gralewski, founder of DocPlanner. Some of these investors have since exited their stakes; others continue to hold them.
Przemysław Gacek, co-founder of Grupa Pracuj, has invested regularly in Preply since its seed round in 2016 - either personally or through the family office Hesta Investments.
“As an investor, I also took part in Preply’s most recent round. Over the years, I have built up a stake amounting to several percent of the company. It is one of my strategic investments and, in terms of value, the largest after Grupa Pracuj. I believe Preply has the potential to become a decacorn over the next decade, reaching a valuation of USD 10bn,” says Przemysław Gacek.
In his view, one of the company’s greatest assets is its founding team.
“From the outset, they have developed the business sensibly and effectively. Even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, they began systematically relocating parts of the team abroad, including to Barcelona. That allowed them to come through recent years without business disruption. They also made excellent use of the market opportunity created by the pandemic-driven boom in online education tools—and they have maintained a rapid growth pace ever since,” Gacek emphasizes.
He has been investing in technology companies for many years.
“My investment portfolio already includes several unicorns, such as DocPlanner. Building and scaling my own technology business, Grupa Pracuj, gave me experience, market intuition and a strong network. We founded our company 25 years ago and, over that time, raised capital ourselves from investors, including U.S. funds. The community of technology entrepreneurs and investors is relatively small - when interesting companies emerged, everyone talked about them. That made it easier for me to build my own investment portfolio. Now, years later, some of those investments have grown into companies of significant value,” says Przemysław Gacek.
Founder's view
Preply brings people and AI together in language learning
Rationality is essential in investing
From the outset, Preply also attracted the attention of Wiktor Namysł. He invested personally in 2016, and in 2022 the company was backed in its Series B round by Orbit Capital, a fund he co-founded.
“We did not take part in the round just announced by Preply, as the investment period for the growth-equity fund has come to an end. We have, however, retained our existing shareholdings. I believe that foreign-language learning worldwide is becoming increasingly important. Preply deftly combines an online, tutor-led teaching model with artificial-intelligence-based tools that support the learning process. This is fully aligned with global trends,” says Wiktor Namysł.
What guides him when selecting companies for investment portfolios?
“Both in my personal capacity, through my family foundation, and at Orbit Capital, our portfolios include unicorns such as DocPlanner, Rohlik Group and MEWS. We invested in these companies at an early stage of development. Today, they are large, well-performing organizations. Experience has taught me that investment decisions require an additional layer on top of the enthusiasm typical of the tech sector - namely, rigorous, rational analysis of the venture itself and of broader market trends,” Namysł notes.
In his view, Poland’s venture-capital market is still developing and becoming more professional. As a result, one can expect the number of unicorns in fund portfolios to continue to grow.
An open window for a potential exit
Preply is the first unicorn in Inovo.vc’s portfolio. Inovo.vc joined the company’s investor base in 2020, when the start-up completed its Series A round. Although the fund did not exit its position in the latest transaction, such a move has now become possible. A round of this size has opened a window for potential changes in the ownership structure among smaller shareholders. If a buyer is found in the coming months, the proceeds from this single company could return a substantial share of the capital that investors committed to the Inovo group’s fund at the time.
“In rounds like this, demand for shares exceeds supply. There are still plenty of investors in the market interested in buying,” explains Michał Rokosz, a partner at Inovo.vc.
He adds that having a unicorn in a fund’s portfolio is a mark of distinction. At the same time, the firm expects that - formally, at the next funding round - another portfolio company, Booksy, will also join the ranks of companies valued at $1bn. Based on the current scale of the business and valuations of comparable firms, Booksy has already crossed the unicorn threshold.
“The success of portfolio companies has a significant impact on a fund’s profitability. At the same time, it strengthens our credibility as a management team in the eyes of both existing and prospective investors. At the current stage of development of Poland’s venture-capital market, investment performance is the best calling card a fund can have,” says Michał Rokosz.
A growing market brings more unicorns into view
Inovo.vc joined Preply’s shareholder base during the pandemic, a period when many companies were feeling the full force of economic uncertainty.
“At the time, we adopted a fairly aggressive investment strategy,” says Michał Rokosz, a partner at Inovo.vc. “We were looking for companies that could benefit from structural market shifts. Crucially, we recognized that Preply’s growth dynamics were not merely the result of a temporary boom in online education, but rather of healthy, well-managed business development,” he adds.
Only a handful of Polish venture-capital funds or business angels currently hold unicorns - Polish or foreign - in their portfolios.
“Domestic funds still have relatively limited access to funding rounds of the very best start-ups in Western Europe - those with the potential to scale to unicorn status,” Rokosz notes. “Some have found effective ways around this. Market One Capital and OTB Ventures, for example, have built strong positions by specializing - one in marketplace investments, the other in deep tech and dual-use technologies - and can point to unicorn investments as a result.”
By contrast, he adds, standout opportunities are easier to find in Central and Eastern Europe. “Several Polish funds have built very strong positions in the region. I therefore expect the number of unicorns in their portfolios to increase in the coming years,” says Michał Rokosz.
Investor’s view
Technology that enhances learning
Key Takeaways
- Preply achieved unicorn status through consistent growth and a shrewd ability to capitalize on global trends, notably the expansion of online education and AI-driven tools. Equally important was the strength of the founding team, which diversified the company’s geographic footprint at an early stage. This allowed the business to navigate safely through the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The result is a valuation of USD 1.2bn and strong interest from international investors.
- Over the years, Preply’s investor base has included both Polish individual investors and venture-capital funds. Among them are Przemysław Gacek, co-founder of Grupa Pracuj; Wiktor Namysł, now a partner at Orbit Capital; as well as Hedgehog Fund, Inovo.vc, and Orbit Capital. The most recent funding round delivered tangible benefits to those who retained their stakes, validating a long-term investment strategy. In the Series D round itself, Przemysław Gacek was an active participant, with Preply remaining one of the core holdings in his portfolio.
- Preply is the first official unicorn in the Inovo.vc portfolio. As Michał Rokosz, managing partner at the fund, notes, such a large financing round has created an opportunity for an exit, with potential gains that could return a substantial share of the capital committed by the fund’s investors. At the same time, the presence of a unicorn significantly strengthens Inovo.vc’s credibility in the eyes of both current and prospective limited partners.