VIPKID, one of the world’s largest education technology companies, announced today that it has raised $500 million in its series D+ financing, the largest round of funding ever raised in the sector globally. This trailblazing financing round was led by investment management firms Coatue Management, Tencent, Sequoia Capital and Yunfeng Capital.
Founded in 2013 and formally launched in 2014 after a year of piloting and development, VIPKID has grown into one of the leading global education companies. Through real-time, one-to-one online English immersion teaching, VIPKID seeks to inspire and empower every child for the future. The platform has attracted over 40,000 North American teachers and over 300,000 students in China (and 35 other countries). Most of VIPKID’s students and teachers continue to join through referrals by existing students and teachers.
Online education attracting leading investors
In the first half of 2018, the Chinese K-12 education sector received a total of $1.5 billion in financing, with VIPKID’s $500 million alone securing a third of the total financing. With its $200 million in series D financing raised in August 2017, VIPKID has received $700 million in financing in less than a year, rewriting the financing record for online education – twice in a row.
Coatue Management, a veteran investor in technology companies, joins existing investors Sequoia Capital, Tencent and Yunfeng Capital.
Philippe Laffont, Founder of Coatue Management, said:
“We believe that VIPKID is transforming the shape of traditional education on a global scale and is providing an excellent new model for future education. Coatue is excited about VIPKID’s opportunity to integrate outstanding educational resources globally and boost its internationalization process.”
Tencent Investment, previously a strategic investor in VIPKID’s series D round, has joined this round as a lead investor.
Lin Haifeng, Managing Partner at Tencent Investment, said:
“Tencent attaches great importance to investment in online education. We hope to have close cooperation with our most important partners like VIPKID and to help the Chinese education industry explore the global market and the boundaries and possibilities of education.”
New financing will enhance the student learning experience
Cindy Mi, Founder and CEO of VIPKID, said:
“The newly raised funds will primarily be used for three purposes. The first is to enhance the student learning experience by adding more leading educational curriculum content and products such as online textbooks, and creating a seamless user experience by enhancing engineering, technology and product. The second is to provide additional tools and assistance to teachers and continued growth of the teacher community to support the increase in product offerings. The third is to leverage the latest advances in machine learning to explore and pioneer the future of learning.”
VIPKID supports the vibrant development of the EdTech ecosystem and is excited to be a sponsor of the 2018 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference in Chicago from June 24-27, a leading global EdTech event. Staff from VIPKID’s US office and many VIPKID teachers will be in attendance.
ABOUT VIPKID
VIPKID connects children in China (and 35 other countries) with the world’s best teachers for real-time, one-to-one online English immersion learning. A global education technology company, VIPKID’s mission is to inspire and empower every child for the future. VIPKID adheres to the belief that education is not one-size-fits-all: all students are unique and the world is within their reach when connected with great teachers capable of personalizing learning and sparking curiosity. Founded in 2013 and formally launched in 2014, VIPKID has become China’s market-leading online education startup, attracting investment from Sinovation Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Tencent, Yunfeng Capital, Coatue Management, Matrix Partners, Learn Capital, Northern Light VC, Bryant Stibel, among others. The company offers a progressive pedagogy and now serves a community of over 300,000 paying students and over 40,000 teachers in the US and Canada.
For more information, please visit: www.vipkid.com
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