Correction: The article originally stated the company’s valuation is now $20 billion. The figure should be RMB 20 billion.
China’s largest K-12 online education startup VIPKID announced (in Chinese) that it has completed its Series D+ round of financing, raising a staggering $500 million—by far the largest round ever secured in the online education sector. The investment was jointly led by Coatue Management, Tencent, Sequoia Capital, and Yunfeng Capital, The investment has bumped VIPKID’s valuation up to RMB 20 billion.
Founded in 2013, VIPKID has quickly grown into one of China’s hottest unicorns and leading online education companies in the world. According to VIPKID, it now has more than 40,000 teaching staff from North America and 300,000 students coming from 35 regions and countries around the world using its paid services.
In the first half of 2018, the Chinese K-12 education sector garnered a total of $1.5 billion in financing—a third of which was raised by VIPKID alone. Last August, the company raised $200 million in a Series D financing round led by Sequoia Capital.
With a youth population of 269 million, China is considered one of the biggest education markets in the world. The online education industry has grown rapidly over the past few years, and the market is expected to swell 20% annually, likely reaching RMB 270 billion next year.