Golden Education Funding, Investors & Competitors

Golden Education has raised $150M across 2 funding rounds, most recently a $115M Series C in November 2018.

Last Golden Education funding round

$115M

Series C · Nov 2018

Cumulative funding Golden Education raised

$150M

across 2 funding rounds

Key investors in Golden Education

Golden Education Overview

About Golden Education

Golden Education is a Beijing-headquartered platform delivering online training for financial certifications in China. The service covers accounting qualifications like CPA and ACCA, securities licensing exams, futures trading credentials, and banking professional courses across more than 100 categories. With centers in major cities including Shanghai and Guangzhou, it supports over 10 million learners through live classes, recorded videos, and mock exams tailored to regulatory requirements from the Ministry of Finance and China Securities Regulatory Commission.


Founded

2006

HQ

ChinaShanghai

Website

gaodun.com

Status

Privately held

Customer focus

B2C

Revenue model

Subscription

Golden Education Funding History

Golden Education has raised a total of $150M across 2 funding rounds.

Golden Education's first fundraising round was a $35M Series A in January 2014. The most recent completed round was a $115M Series C in November 2018.

Golden Education funding rounds

Golden Education funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedDeal Summary
Nov 2018Series CHillhouse Investment (lead); Morgan Stanley (lead); Vision Knight Capital; Yonghua Capital$115MGolden Education (高顿教育), founded in 2006, is a Chinese finance education platform specializing in professional training for financial and accounting standards, serving both corporate clients and individual learners. The company completed a RMB 80 million (approximately US$115 million) Series C funding round in November 2018, co-led by Hillhouse Capital and Morgan Stanley, with participation from YongHua Capital and VKC Partners (Vision Knight Capital). The funds are designated for building a financial and economic education ecosystem, emphasizing AI, big data, and cloud computing to enhance personalized learning experiences. At the time of the round, Golden Education had established a significant presence with over 40 branches and 20 branch campuses across China, catering to 50,000 corporate clients including Fortune 500 companies like GE and Coca-Cola, alongside 3 million individual users. This dual 2B and 2C market approach, incorporating big data for operational efficiency, was highlighted by Hillhouse Capital as a key differentiator creating substantial market potential in finance education. Previously, the company secured a USD 35 million Series A strategic investment from New Oriental Group in 2014 and Series B funding from QianChenWuYou in 2015. The Series C round builds on this foundation to deepen technological integration and expand service offerings amid growing demand for professional financial training in China following regulatory changes in accounting standards.
Jan 2014Series ANew Oriental Education (lead)$35MGolden Education is a finance and accounting education platform founded in 2006 to help Chinese companies and professionals adapt to new corporate accounting standards. The company operates a 2B2C model serving corporate clients through on-site and online training programs while also reaching individual learners through its platform. In 2014, Golden Education received a USD 35 million Series A strategic investment from New Oriental Group (New Oriental Education & Technology Group), a major education provider in China. The funding was used to expand Golden Education's reach and capabilities, particularly in financial and economic education services. At the time of the Series A, the company had grown to serve 50,000 corporate clients including Fortune 500 companies such as GE and Coca-Cola, alongside 3 million individual users, demonstrating significant traction in both corporate training and consumer segments. The company had established over 40 branches across China and partnered with leading universities including Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and Central University of Finance and Economics to develop specialized teaching content and resources.

Who has invested in Golden Education?

5 investors have backed Golden Education across its funding rounds, including Hillhouse Investment, Morgan Stanley, Yonghua Capital, Vision Knight Capital and New Oriental Education.

Lead investors include Hillhouse Investment, Morgan Stanley and New Oriental Education.


Golden Education Investors

Investors in Golden Education by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
Vision Knight CapitalChinaShanghai1ParticipantNov 2018
Hillhouse InvestmentSingaporeSingapore1LeadNov 2018
Morgan StanleyUnited StatesNew York City, NY1LeadNov 2018

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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples

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Investments by Golden Education

Golden Education has invested in 2 companies to date.

Latest investment by Golden Education was on June 27th 2018. Golden Education invested in BeBetter in their $2M Series A round.


Latest Investments by Golden Education

BeBetter
GEC Academy
Description
BeBetter is a Beijing-based educator delivering financial literacy, business management, and entrepreneurship courses to youth in China. The institution offers online and in-person programs covering budgeting, investing, and startup skills through partnerships with universities in Shanghai and Guangzhou.
-
HQ CountryChinaChina
HQ City
Shanghai
Beijing
Deal Date27 Jun 20188 Feb 2018
RoundSeries ASeed
Raised$2M$2M
Investors-UnityVC
Valuationundisclosedundisclosed
EV/Revenue
EV/EBITDA

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Golden Education Competitors

Golden Education competitors include listed companies like Pearson, New Oriental Education, Duolingo and TAL Education, and private ones like Yuanfudao and Guild.

Public and private companies comparable to Golden Education
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
YuanfudaoChinaBeijingPrivate$1.4B-$17B11.7x
PearsonUnited KingdomUnited KingdomPublicly listed$4.8B$1.4B$9.6B2.3x
New Oriental EducationChinaChinaPublicly listed$4.9B$563M$8.9B0.8x
DuolingoUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$1B$152M$6.9B4.9x
TAL EducationChinaChinaPublicly listed$3B$700M$6.5B1.2x
GuildUnited StatesDenver, COPrivate--$4.4B-

Golden Education Public Comps

Golden Education is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Pearson, New Oriental Education, Duolingo, TAL Education, Laureate Education, Graham Holdings, Covista, Grand Canyon Education, Fibra Educa and Stride.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Pearson$4.8B$1.4B2.4x2.3x8.1x10.4x
New Oriental Education$4.9B$563M1.0x0.8x8.8x5.6x
Duolingo$1B$152M5.4x4.9x37.3x17.9x
TAL Education$3B$700M1.3x1.2x5.7x6.9x
Laureate Education$1.7B$515M3.2x3.0x10.7x9.6x
Graham Holdings$4.9B$682M1.0x1.0x7.3x-
Covista$2B$462M2.5x2.4x10.4x9.1x
Grand Canyon Education$1.1B$306M3.4x3.3x12.4x10.0x

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Common questions about Golden Education

When was Golden Education founded?Golden Education was founded in 2006.
Where is Golden Education headquartered?Golden Education is headquartered in Shanghai, China.
Is Golden Education publicly listed?No, Golden Education is a private, VC-backed company.
How much funding has Golden Education raised?Golden Education has raised $150M across 2 funding rounds.
What was Golden Education's last funding round?Golden Education's last funding round was a $115M Series C in November 2018, led by Hillhouse Investment and Morgan Stanley.
Who are Golden Education's investors?Golden Education's investors include Vision Knight Capital, Hillhouse Investment, Morgan Stanley, New Oriental Education and Yonghua Capital.
Which companies are comparable to Golden Education?Companies comparable to Golden Education include Yuanfudao, Pearson, New Oriental Education, Duolingo, TAL Education and Guild.
How many companies has Golden Education invested in?Golden Education has invested in 2 companies, including BeBetter and GEC Academy.
What was Golden Education's last investment?In June 2018, Golden Education invested in BeBetter's $2M Series A.

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