 | |
| Available in | Arabic, Czech, Dutch, English, Esperanto, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Turkish and Vietnamese[1] |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | |
| Country of origin | China |
| Founder(s) | Kevin Chen, Yongyue Jiang |
| Industry | Language Learning |
| URL | italki.com |
| Launched | 2007; 17 years ago (2007) |
| Current status | Active |
| Native client(s) on | iOS[1] & Android[2] |
italki (in English: /ˈaɪtɔːki/) is an online language learning platform which connects language learners and teachers through video chat. The site allows students to find online teachers for 1-on-1 tutoring, and teachers to earn money as freelance tutors.[3] italki is headquartered in Hong Kong, China.
One can choose online language lessons taught by a professional teacher, who provides structured learning plans, or a community tutor.[4] Students may also use it as a platform for mutual language exchange.[5]
In 2007, Kevin Chen and Yongyue Jiang cofounded italki as an online language exchange community.[6][7] At the start, the site was focused on building free features for the community.[8][9][10] In 2009, the site launched its teacher marketplace, allowing teachers to earn money by providing online tutoring services.[11][12] Teachers on italki set their own price and time schedule.[13]
In 2012, italki raised angel funding from independent investors.[14][15] In 2016, italki raised $3 million from Hujiang, a Baidu-invested Chinese education company with over 100 million users.[16][17][18]
As of July 2017, italki has more than 3 million users from more than 100 countries, and 5000 teachers.[19][20][21] English is the most popular language being studied, followed by Spanish, French, Chinese, and Japanese. The site offers more than 100 languages for students and teachers to choose from[22][16] Its user interface supports 19 languages.[1]
