VIPKid
VIPKid is an education technology company that focuses on providing online ESL education to students in China.
As of November 2018, VIPKid reportedly had over 500,000 students on its platform and over 60,000 teachers.[1] The company is valued at over $3 billion, making it one of China’s largest online education startups.[2]
History
VIPKid was started in 2013 by Cindy Mi. Mi was the owner of a brick-and-mortar English center and a graduate of the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business. She developed the idea for VIPKid as a way to fill the undersupply of English-language educators in China.[3]
The company was originally funded by Sinovation Ventures in 2013 for an undisclosed amount. Since then, it has raised $850 million in a series of rounds that included Sequoia Capital, Northern Light Venture Capital, and Tencent Holdings as investors.[4] In 2017, VIPKid launched Lingo Bus, a platform that focuses on teaching Mandarin to students aged 5 to 12.[5] In partnership with the Jack Ma Foundation, VIPKid launched the Rural Education Project in 2017 to support teacher training and provide English learning resources in underdeveloped areas of China.[6]
- ^ "Chinese unicorn VIPKid says it's focused on maintaining quality in the face of 'rapid growth'". CNBC. 2018-11-28. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
- ^ "VipKid to expand to 100 countries". South China Morning Post. 2018-08-06. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
- ^ "A 35-year-old who dropped out of high school had a vision of a utopian future for China, the US, and the world — and it's led her to the forefront of a tech startup worth $3 billion". Business Insider. 2018-08-11. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
- ^ "VIPKid". CrunchBase. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
- ^ "Lingo Bus extends Mandarin learning offering". China Daily. 2018-08-11. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
- ^ "Special English teacher training coming to rural China". China Daily. 2017-04-23. Retrieved 2019-01-21.