About Us

italki is a global language learning community that connects students and teachers for 1-on-1 online language lessons. We’re passionate about giving everyone the opportunity to learn languages, in the most personalized and authentic way possible.

Our Vision

To help people become fluent in foreign languages, by building connections with people from other cultures.

Our Mission

To build the world’s best community-driven language education platform.

Our Story

2006

A social network for language learning

We launched italki at the end of 2006 as a social network for language exchange. We wanted to connect people around the world to learn from each other. We thought a bright pink logo would help.

2008

Building a marketplace for teachers

We expanded italki into a "community marketplace" where learners could pay money to online teachers for personal lessons. It was a new idea, and many people were skeptical it could work as a platform.

2012

Finding our angels

We expanded our marketplace with more languages, more learners, and more teachers. In 2012 we completed our angel financing round.

2016

Continued expansion

We relaunched our mobile apps and website, and rebranded to our "neon salmon" logo. We completed a financing round in 2016 with Hujiang, a Chinese online education company.

2019

First acquisition

We moved into our own office, and began expanding our team internationally. Our first acquisition was Lingbe, which is based in Spain.

2020

The future

Just like how you’re never done learning a language, we’ll never be done improving the experience on italki. It’s been an exciting journey, and we're looking forward to more challenges, opportunities, and successes in the future!

Our Core Values

Act with a Global Mindset

We embrace diversity and draw
inspiration from different cultures.

Lead with Empathy

We put ourselves in other people’s shoes and encourage different perspectives.

Make a Difference

We push for progress, value results,
and are dedicated to making a great impact together.

Learn and Grow

We invest in ourselves and promote personal and communal growth.

Don’t Give Up

We learn from obstacles and believe that patience and persistence can overcome all the difficulties.

Enjoy the Journey

We’re passionate about making
language learning an enjoyable
and meaningful experience.

150+

languages available to learn

20,000+

language teachers from 190 countries

5,000,000+

language learners from 180 countries