Chinese education technology startup Empower Education Online (EEO) has raised $265 million in a Series C financing round.
The round was led by Hillhouse Capital’s venture capital unit GL Ventures along with participation from other investors, including Chinese social media and gaming giant Tencent, global investment firm SIG, INCE Capital, an investment firm co-founded by JP Gan, ex-partner at Qiming Venture Partners; and Gaocheng Capital, which focuses on growth-stage PE deals in technological innovation and enterprise service.
Founded in 2014, EEO provides the next generation interactive online classroom ClassIn, which enables teachers and students from across the globe to come together, face-to-face, and learn in a collaborative online environment. ClassIn provides functions like online homework management, interactive and shared e-blackboards, online responders, a suit of essential teaching tools, and a cloud service that allow easy access to teaching material and create engaging classes online.
EEO’s mission is to empower education online by providing teachers and institutions a platform that they need to make online learning personal and engaging. Whether teaching ESL, Math, Science, Art, Music, Coding, or offering professional development courses, ClassIn provides a platform for teachers and institutions. EEO currently serves 20 million monthly active users from 150 countries and regions.
Speaking about the company, Song Junbo, Founder and CEO, EEO, said in a statement
“Today, interpersonal communication has developed to rely on coffee houses plus WeChat, like the future of education, which will also quickly shift towards an era of online plus offline classroom. As EEO helps schools and institutions build their online capabilities, the company will continue to promote the digitization of offline teaching scene.”
ClassIn’s powerful capabilities introduced a professional and accessible tool for online teaching both throughout the education industry in China and abroad. The Beijing-based firm claims to have served more than 6,000 schools and educational institutions globally, including leading Chinese education companies, such as TAL Education Group and New Oriental, as well as international companies like Udacity and Pearson.
Earlier, EEO had raised tens of millions of US dollars in a Series B round from INCE Capital in July. The company had also raised 100 million yuan in Series A+ round in March 2017 led by New Oriental with participation from TAL Education Group and e-testing and assessment service ATA.
