Temasek leads US$250M Series E funding in AI-powered Chinese edtech firm 17ZUOYE
17ZUOYE’s supplementary textbooks provide tailor-made content to each student, which is generated based on his/her daily homework data using Big Data and AI
Beijing-headquartered Sunny Education, which operates under the brand name 17ZUOYE, a K-12 online education platform for teachers, students and parents in China, has secured US$250 million in Series E round of financing, led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings.
New investors such as CITIC Private Equity Funds Management and existing shareholders such as Shunwei Capital (founded by Xiaomi Founder Jun Lei) also joined the round.
The company will use the money for market expansion and also to improve its content and technology.
“After we figured out how to achieve returns for our shareholders while continuing providing complimentary high-quality homework content to teachers and students, we believe it is the right time to accelerate the company’s growth using the power of capital. With the new funding, we will accelerate our expansion in the middle school and high school sectors, and further strengthen our leading position in the primary school sector,” said Liu Chang, Founder and CEO of 17ZUOYE.
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Founded in October 2011 by Chang and Xiao Dun, 17ZUOYE’s supplementary textbooks provide tailor-made premium content to each student, which is generated based on the student’s daily homework data using Big Data and Artificial Intelligence technologies. The firm offers all-subject homework solutions as well as class preparation and personalised learning solutions for teachers, students and parents.
Since inception, 17ZUOYE has attracted investments of over US$385 million from investors. Its other backers are DST Global, Tiger Global Management, as well as Wang Qiang and Xu Xiaoping (founders of ZhenFund).
“…By February 2018, 17ZUOYE has served over 60 million users in approximately 120,000 schools by offering complimentary homework solutions to teachers, students and parents. It stimulates students’ learning interest and improves learning efficiency and efficacy. Beyond homework, students can study by themselves using intelligent supplementary textbooks or participate in live stream tutoring courses,” added Chang.
The firm also claims to have achieved some initial success in monetisation. Its two main monetisation models– intelligent supplementary textbooks and live stream tutoring — have helped it break even at cash level in November 2017.
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