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Chinese after-school tutoring platform Entstudy has sealed a 120 million yuan ($18.21 million USD) C round led by Greenwoods Investment with participation of existing investors of Tencent and Yuanxi Capital.
Entstudy (Fengkuang Laoshi), whose Chinese name literally means ‘Fabulous Teachers’, helps connect parents to tutors for one-to-one after-school tutoring services aimed at primary or secondary school-age children.
The new funding will be utilized to develop its live streaming platform Dingdang Classroom (our translation), which is expected to become a major revenue source for the startup. Zhang Hao, CEO and founder of Entstudy, said to local media that the company is expected to surpass 60 million yuan in revenue this year and start to record profits next year.
At the same time, the company will be divided into three departments for community operations, teacher incubator programs and live streaming services.
The current round comes after a $24 million B plus round received last July at a market valuation of $200 million USD. In addition, Tencent’s cooperate venture capital fund invested $20 million USD in the company’s B series.
Tencent Weighs In On Online Education
China’s huge appetite for eduation has moved online in recent years. The country’s market for e-learning soared 19.4% YOY to 119.17 billion RMB in 2015, according to data from research institution Qianzhan.com.
Tencent, the Chinese internet giant with investments in virtually every sector, has set its eyes on the blooming market through both partnerships and investments. Entstudy is among a handful of education startups that Tencent holds stake in.
Since the beginning of this year, the company has invested in three edtech projects, including a $40 million USD round in Yuanfudao, a 100 million yuan B round in English learning startup ABC360, and a 320 million RMB strategic investment in the online unit of Chinese private education behemoth New Oriental Education & Technology Group which follows the establishment of a joint venture with the company in 2014.
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