NetEase Youdao, an online education subsidiary of China’s second-largest game publisher NetEase, has completed its series A round of funding with a valuation of US$1.1 billion led by Mooc-CN Education, with participation by Legend Capital.
China’s 17Zuoye Education Platform Gets $250M From Temesk, Following $200M Investment From Toutiao
China’s online education platform 17Zuoye, owned by Sunny Education Inc., continues to be a magnet for investors. The latest investment is a US$250 million Series E round in led by Singaporean investment fund Temasek. The deal follows a $200 million investment by AI-driven news aggregation company Toutiao on March 7.
China’s Sunlands Online Education Files For $300M IPO In New York
Chinese online education service Sunlands Online Education Group has filed an applications for an initial public offering of up to US$300 million with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
China’s JD In Talks To Sell 15% Of Logistics Unit To Tencent, Other Investors
China’s e-commerce giant JD.com Inc. is in talks to sell 15% of its logistics unit, JD Logistics, to a group of early investors including Tencent Holdings Ltd., JD.com’s founder Richard Liu said in an interview with media.
ICG Acquires Singapore’s PSB Academy From Baring Private Equity Asia
U.K.-listed Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) and its funds have acquired a 100% stake of Singapore’s private eduction institution PSB Academy (PSB) from Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA).
Warburg, Genesis Capital Invest $120M In Chinese Online Tutoring Platform Zhangmen
American private equity firm Warburg Pincus’s affiliate and Genesis Capital have invested US$120 million in a series D round in Chinese online tutoring start-up Zhangmen, the company announced in a press release today.
Tiger Global And TAL Education Join $100M Round In Chinese English Education Platform DadaABC
U.S. investment firm Tiger Global Management and New York Exchange-listed education and technology firm TAL Education have invested in a US$100 million series C round in DadaABC, a Chinese online one-on-one English education platform, according to an announcement on the company’s official WeChat account.
Fidelity’s Investment Arms, Northern Light Venture Lead $25M Round In Orient Speech Therapy Center
Fidelity Investments’ Eight Roads Ventures and associated fund F-Prime Capital have teamed up with Northern Light Venture Capital to lead a US$25 million series B round in Chinese speech and language therapy operator, Orient Speech Therapy Center (China) Ltd.
Former Facebook Research Scientist Yang Liu To Lead Education Firm Liulishuo’s New AI Lab
Shanghai-based English language learning platform Liulishuo announced that Dr. Yang Liu, formerly a research scientist at Facebook and a professor at the University of Texas Dallas, has officially joined as the head of its newly open artificial intelligence (AI) lab in Silicon Valley.
Jack Ma’s Alibaba, Xinhua Unleash Robot Journalist Army On China, Raising Privacy Fears
Imagine walking your child to school, then discovering an hour later that you and your child’s image has been featured on state news simply because you happened to walk past a store that was just robbed. This type of invasive news coverage has just become reality in China thanks to a partnership between tech giant Alibaba Group and Chinese state newswires Xinhua News Agency.
CDH Investments Reaches First Closing Of RMB3.2 Billion For Fifth Mezzanine Fund
Chinese private equity firm CDH Investments has reaching a first closing of RMB3.2 billion (US$484 million) for its fifth mezzanine fund, Ning Hu, a managing director at CDH Investments told local Chinese medial.
KKR Adds New Members And Managing Directors, With Seven Additions In Asia Pacific
KKR today announced a newly promoted group of 23 members, which are KKR’s equivalent of partners, and 44 managing directors, effective from January 1, 2018. Two members and five managing directors in Asia Pacific are among the newly anointed top ranks at one of the largest private equity firms in the world with US$153 billion assets under management as of September 30, 2017.
RYB’s Child Abuse Scandal Reflects Poor Diligence By Top Investors Including Hillhouse, Greenwoods
The child abuse scandal at RYB Education Inc. (NYSE:RYB) reduced its stock price by nearly 40% last week, just three months after the company’s New York Stock Exchange IPO. The collapse has cost the company’s top ten institutional investors, including China’s largest private equity fund Hillhouse Capital and well-known investment management firm Greenwoods Asset Management, a combined US$52 million on paper. But the losses might have been avoided if investors had taken into account some inherent weaknesses in RYB’s business …
Chinese Artificial Intelligence-Powered Educational Firm Yixue Education Completes A $41M Angel Round
Yixue Education, a Chinese K12 online education company, has raised RMB270 million (US$41 million) in an angel round from SIG, Nokia Growth Partners, New Oriental Education and Technology Group Inc. and Greenwood Investment, local media reports.
DealShot: Cash Capital Leads $30M Series B+ Round In Chinese Online Education Platform SmartStudy.com
China Money Network’s DealShot provides detailed information on venture capital and private equity deals in China on a daily basis. Here you can find out where Chinese investors have been investing their money in at around 5pm each workday.
DHVC Leads $15M Series B Round in Chinese AI-Driven Education Firm FClassroom
DHVC, or Danhua Capital, a California-based venture capital fund founded by Stanford physics professor Shoucheng Zhang, has led a RMB100 million (US$15 million) series B round in Fclassroom, an artificial intelligence-powered education firm in China.
China’s Tencent Joins $41M Round In US Education Robotics Firm Wonder Workshop
Silicon Valley-based education robots developer Wonder Workshop has raised a US$41 million series C round from a number of investors including Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd., SoftBank Group’s unit SoftBank Korea.
China’s RISE Education Completes Strong Nasdaq IPO In Win For Bain Capital
RISE Education, a Chinese provider of after-school English lessons which is backed by Bain Capital, enjoyed a strong debut on the Nasdaq Friday, closing up more than 14% on its first day of trade. The stock closed at US$16.61, compared to its initial public offering (IPO) price of US$14.50. RISE’s IPO was well received, demonstrating investors’ continued interest in China’s fast-growing education sector. The company raised US$160 million by offering 11 million shares at US$14.50, higher than the expected price …
KPCB’s James Huang Says High Healthcare Valuations Force Investors To Seek Early Stage Innovation
China’s healthcare sector is seeing a flood of new capital from from non-professional investors such as Chinese coal mining and factory bosses, according to James Huang, a managing partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) China, who focuses on life sciences. As a result, valuations have become excessive, forcing more experienced investors to adopt new strategies to get ahead of the "dumb money."
DealShot: BAI Leads $30M Series B+ Round In Chinese K12 Online Education Firm Knowbox
China Money Network’s DealShot provides detailed information on venture capital and private equity deals in China on a daily basis. Here you can find out where Chinese investors have been investing their money in at around 5pm each workday.
China’s New Oriental Education Said To Launch $1.8B Funds Targeting Start-Ups, M&A
New York-listed Chinese educational company New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. will establish funds worth a combined US$1.8 billion to invest in education industry start-ups and pursue mergers and acquisitions globally, according to local reports.
China’s JD.com Forms Autonomous Van Partnership With SAIC, Dongfeng Motor
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com Inc. has formed partnerships with automotive manufacturers SAIC Maxus Automotive Co., Ltd., and Dongfeng Motor Corp. to conduct research into the use of autonomous vans in its logistics business.
China Media Capital Co-Leads $83M Round In Chinese K-12 Education Platform Gaosi
Chinese investment firms China Media Capital and AlphaX Partners have led a RMB550 million (US$83 million) new funding round in Gaosi Education, an online-offline K-12 education company listed on China’s New Third Board.
Sequoia Leads $200M Round In Chinese K-12 Online Education Platform Vipkid
Sequoia Capital China has led a US$200 million series D round in Vipkid, a Chinese K-12 online education platform, in what the company calls the largest funding round to date in the nation’s K-12 online education sector. Tencent Holdings Ltd., Matrix Partners China, Yunfeng Capital and Zhen Fund also participated in the round.
Ugly Fight Between Chinese Online Education Firms Enrages Investors
Two of China’s leading online education companies, backed by a who’s-who of top venture capital firms, are embroiled in an ugly public relations fight involving pornography, alleged hacking and threatened legal action. The episode has caused an outcry from investors and industry participants, with the latest being Baidu Inc., an investor and former parent of one company, releasing a statement with harsh words for all involved. The facts are still unclear, yet it seems certain that both firms are destined …
H Capital Leads $150M Round In Chinese K12 Online Education Platform Zuoyebang
China-focused venture capital firm H Capital has led a US150 million series C round in Zuoyebang, a K-12 online education spin-off from Baidu Inc.
Qiming Leads $10M Round In Chinese Education Robot Developer Kuaile Zhihui
China-focused venture capital firm Qiming Venture Partners has led a series A round of nearly US$10 million in Kuaile Zhihui, a Beijing-based artificial intelligence start-up developing educational robots for children.
CMC Capital Co-Leads $100M Round In Chinese Online Education Firm Liulishuo
CMC Capital Partners and Wu Capital have jointly led a series C round in Liulishuo worth nearly US$100 million, a Shanghai-based English language learning platform.
Xuebajun, Dangdai Launch Strategic Partnership For AI In Education
Xuebajun, an education mobile app allowing students to upload questions and get answers from both AI robots and online teachers, has signed a strategic partnership with Wuhan city-based education group Dangdai Education to seek opportunities in the artificial intelligence space.
Hillhouse Capital’s Zhang Lei Establishes US$43M Education Fund For Renmin University
Zhang Lei, founder and CEO at Hillhouse Capital, has donated RMB300 million (US$43 million) to his alma mater Renmin University of China to establish an education fund.
Warburg Leads $120M Round In Chinese Online Education Firm Yuanfudao
Global private equity giant Warburg Pincus has led a US$120 million new funding round in Yuanfudao, a K-12 online learning and teaching platform in China formerly known as Yuantiku, in the largest investment deal to date in the K-12 online learning sector in China.