Sanoma buys Fluentbe to boost AI education push

This article is a part of Poland Unpacked. Weekly intelligence for decision-makers

The acquisition of Fluentbe marks another step in Sanoma Learning’s expansion in digital education. Artificial intelligence technology developed by the Polish language-learning startup may now be deployed in other parts of the group’s educational offering.

The Finland-based Sanoma Group has acquired Polish company Fluentbe, an AI-powered language-learning platform. The transaction was completed on July 1, 2026, and announced today.

“Under the transaction, 100% of the shares were sold by the existing owners. The buyer is Sanoma Learning, specifically Vulcan, which is part of the group. From now on, we will develop Fluentbe together with Vulcan and Nowa Era,” Miłosz Ryniecki, CEO of Fluentbe, told XYZ.

Sanoma Learning’s portfolio includes Nowa Era, a major Polish educational publisher known for school textbooks, as well as Vulcan, a company specializing in the digitalization of education and e-learning solutions. In addition, Sanoma operates a technology hub in Poland that supports operations across more than a dozen European markets.

“Fluentbe brings to the Group unique competencies at the intersection of education, technology, and artificial intelligence, an experienced team, and a proven model of personalized learning. It is an excellent complement to our capabilities and an important step in executing our strategy of building modern educational solutions,” said Andrzej J. Kozłowski, CEO of Nowa Era.

In recent years, Miłosz Ryniecki developed Fluentbe together with Jacek Perkowski. Their venture was backed by investors and venture capital funds, including Mariusz Gralewski, founder of ZnanyLekarz [doctor appointment app – ed.] and GoldenLine [a now closed job and recruitment portal for professionals – ed.], several other individuals linked to those platforms, early-stage investment vehicle Xevin Investments, bValue, and Black Pearls VC.

Fluentbe reported that it raised a total of EUR 1 million (approximately PLN 4.3 million) in venture capital funding across four investment rounds.

Investor's perspective

I view the transaction very positively – both from the company’s and the investors’ perspective. Fluentbe has built a strong position in the language education market, but this market is now entering a phase of profound technological transformation driven by AI. The company could have continued to grow independently, but competing in the new environment requires scale, technological resources, and reach that are far easier to build within a large education group. For this reason, we believe that joining Sanoma Learning is the best possible scenario for Fluentbe and the right moment – the company is joining a strategic partner that will allow it to fully unlock the potential of its product.

From the fund’s perspective, the return is fully satisfactory. It is worth noting that the bValue Bridge fund, from which this investment originated, has already returned approximately six times the invested capital to its investors. In this respect, it places the fund among the European top tier.

Fluentbe within the Sanoma learning structure

Miłosz Ryniecki assures that, for now, the company will retain its existing operational structure.

“The founders remain with the company, as does the entire management team. We intend to continue developing the business, but now as part of a larger group. For Fluentbe, this is primarily the next stage of development. Through this transaction, we gain a partner with resources, experience, and scale that were not accessible to us as an independent company. For Sanoma Learning, it is an opportunity to leverage technology and teaching methodologies that we have developed over more than a decade and that have already been validated on the Polish market,” says Miłosz Ryniecki.

Sanoma Learning is advancing a strategy that includes, among other priorities, digital education.

“Together, among others with Andrzej Kozłowski, CEO of Nowa Era, we worked on finalizing the transaction. We agreed that our experience, technology team, and competencies in building educational products would be used to create new solutions for the entire group. Initially, these will be developed for the Polish market in cooperation with Nowa Era and Vulcan, while in a longer-term perspective also for other European markets. Sanoma Learning is the largest education group in Europe, so the scale opportunities are incomparably greater than before,” Miłosz Ryniecki emphasizes.

“AI from Fluentbe to be rolled out across broader education”

Details of the structure and format of cooperation between the company and Fluentbe’s management team and its new owner are still being finalized. However, the framework for the near term has already been outlined.

Over the past year, Fluentbe has been working on a “virtual tutor” named Kaia. The solution is now a commercial product included in the Smart Learning package and is primarily offered to corporate clients. It can therefore be expected that this AI tool will be tested and adapted for use in other areas of digital education.

“At the beginning, we will focus on further developing language education, because this is the area in which our solutions are currently the most mature. In the long term, however, we intend to apply our technologies in other segments of education as well. Our platform and developed solutions do not have to be limited exclusively to foreign language learning. We see potential for their use in other subjects and areas of teaching, supporting the development of Nowa Era’s and Vulcan’s products,” emphasizes Miłosz Ryniecki.

AI, digital education and acquisitions in Sanoma’s strategy

“We invest in companies that bring unique capabilities and create value for our customers. Fluentbe is a very good example of this approach.”

Sanoma stresses that the acquisition of Fluentbe forms part of a broader strategy to develop artificial intelligence-based solutions and digital education across Europe. The group is simultaneously building its own AI tools, and the Polish company’s capabilities are expected to accelerate this process.

“The acquisition of Fluentbe fits perfectly into Sanoma’s strategy, which aims to develop trusted European AI solutions. At the same time, we are intensively developing our own products – in June we made an AI assistant available for teachers to test, supporting them in preparing teaching materials and conducting classes. Fluentbe’s competencies will be a valuable addition to these efforts and will help us develop innovative educational solutions even faster,” says Andrzej J. Kozłowski.

The group is fully aware that education is moving toward digital solutions and personalized learning.

“The acquisition of Fluentbe strengthens our capabilities in digital education and AI, and expands our offering into a new market segment. At the same time, Fluentbe’s experience will be able to support the development of educational solutions across the entire Sanoma Group. Poland is playing an increasingly important role in building digital and AI competencies for the whole group, and this transaction is another step in strengthening that position,” he emphasizes.

He underlines that the group’s goal is to consistently develop digital capabilities and AI-driven solutions – both through in-house innovation and selective acquisitions.

“We invest in companies that bring unique competencies and create value for our customers. Fluentbe is a very good example of this approach,” concludes the CEO of Nowa Era.

Strategic partner instead of standalone growth

“We did not sell the company in order to leave it. We still want to develop the brand, the technology, the teaching methodology, and continue working with the team. All of these elements remain in place.”

Was securing a strong international strategic partner through a sale part of Fluentbe’s original development plan? Company representatives say it was.

“Together with Jacek Perkowski, we built the company over eleven years with the intention of finding a strategic partner who would help us execute the same vision faster and at a much larger scale. We believe that cooperation with Sanoma Learning offers significantly greater development opportunities than continuing to build the company independently, even with venture capital support,” says Miłosz Ryniecki.

He stresses that this was not a transaction in which the founders also exit the business.

“We did not sell the company in order to leave it. We still want to develop the brand, the technology, the teaching methodology, and work with the team. All of these elements remain. What changes most is the scale of operations and the ability to reach a much larger number of users,” he emphasizes.

Growth, but built on group structures

Just a year ago, the company declared its readiness to raise additional venture capital and presented plans for further international expansion. At the time, it reported that, beyond Poland, it was also developing its platform in Spain, Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary.

“The way we will pursue international expansion is also changing. It remains an important part of our plans, but instead of building everything from scratch, we will leverage Sanoma Learning’s presence and resources in individual markets. This will allow us to deploy our technology where it best meets the needs of local users, using the existing structures and experience of the entire group,” says Miłosz Ryniecki.

Sanoma strengthens its AI and digital education capabilities with the acquisition of Fluentbe. The Polish company brings to the group experience in applying artificial intelligence to language learning, a personalized learning model, and a technology team. For Sanoma, the deal is part of a broader strategy to build European AI-powered educational solutions, pursued both through in-house product development and selective acquisitions.
Fluentbe remains within its existing operational structure, with its founders continuing to develop the company as part of the group. The transaction does not constitute a conventional management exit – the company continues its operations but now as part of a larger organization, which is expected to provide access to greater scale, resources, and markets. At the same time, Fluentbe’s capabilities are expected to support the development of Sanoma Group’s broader product portfolio, including Nowa Era and Vulcan.
The approach to international expansion and the use of Fluentbe’s technology is shifting. Instead of independently developing new markets, the company will leverage Sanoma’s existing European presence and operational structures. At the same time, “Kaia,” the virtual tutor developed by Fluentbe, is likely to be applied beyond foreign language learning and used in other segments of education.