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- Knowbox
Knowbox Valuation, Funding & Investors
Knowbox is valued at $1B as of May 2019.
Last Knowbox valuation
$1B
Series D · May 2019
Last Knowbox funding round
$150M
Series D · May 2019
Cumulative funding Knowbox raised
$306M
across 6 funding rounds
Key investors in Knowbox
Legend Star
TAL Education
BAI capital
YF Capital
Alibaba Group
Baidu Ventures
About Knowbox
Knowbox is a K12 edtech platform founded in 2014 with mobile apps for personalized homework exercises serving nearly one million daily active users in China. Teachers manage assignments efficiently, gaining time for student support. The company builds proprietary homework databases for math and other subjects.
Founded
2014
HQ
Website
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2B & B2C
Revenue model
Subscription
Valuation
$1B (May 2019)
Knowbox Valuation
Knowbox is currently valued at $1B, based on its Series D in May 2019.
The $150M round was led by Alibaba Group, with participation from YF Capital, Delian Capital, C Ventures and BAI capital.
Knowbox's valuation has grown 9.6x from $104M at its Series B in October 2016 to $1B in May 2019, across 3 priced rounds.
Knowbox valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| May 2019 | Series D | $1B |
| Oct 2017 | Series B | $273M |
| Oct 2016 | Series B | $104M |
Knowbox Funding History
Knowbox has raised a total of $306M across 6 funding rounds.
Knowbox's first fundraising round was a $1M angel round in July 2014. The most recent completed round was a $150M Series D in May 2019.
Knowbox funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2019 | Series D | Alibaba Group (lead); YF Capital; Delian Capital; C Ventures; BAI capital | $150M | $1B | Knowbox is a Beijing-based online education platform founded in 2014 that specializes in providing personalized mathematics homework, tests, games, and contests to K-12 students. The company's services were used by 70% of China's primary schools, covering 100,000 schools across more than 500 cities in 31 provinces, with 3.7 million daily active users as of the funding announcement. In May 2019, Knowbox closed a $150 million Series D funding round led by Alibaba Group, with participation from Yunfeng Capital, Bertelsmann Asia Investments, and C Ventures. The round valued the company at more than $1 billion post-money, marking Knowbox's achievement of unicorn status. Founder and CEO Liu Ye stated the company would use the fresh capital to accelerate artificial intelligence efforts and expand its AI-Oriented-Content strategy, aiming to provide personalized learning at scale and lower cost while offering high-quality educational resources to broader student populations. |
| Apr 2018 | Series C | YF Capital (lead); TAL Education | $100M | - | Knowbox is a China-based K-12 online education platform founded in 2014, specializing in mathematics and homework management through gamified apps, personalized exercises, and AI-driven content. It enables teachers to assign, grade homework, and reaches a significant portion of primary schools in China, with over 27 million registered students and 2 million teachers across nearly 70,000 schools as of April 2018. The platform aims to address imbalances in high-quality educational resources by developing AI technologies to make education more affordable and efficient. In April 2018, Knowbox raised $100 million in its Series C funding round, led by YF Capital (Yunfeng Capital) with participation from TAL Education Group, marking its second financing within 120 days. China Taihecap acted as the exclusive financial advisor. This followed prior rounds including a $30 million Series B-plus in 2017 led by Bertelsmann Asia Investments with TAL, New World Development, and Baidu Ventures; a $15 million Series B in 2016 led by Genesis Capital with Legend Star; a $10 million Series A in 2015 with TAL and Liu Qiangdong; and $1 million seed from Legend Star. The Series C infusion reflected strong investor interest in China's edtech sector amid growing demand for internet-based education solutions. Knowbox's rapid fundraising trajectory continued post-Series C with a $150 million Series D led by Alibaba, bringing total funding to over $306 million by sources tracking cumulative raises. Traction metrics highlighted Knowbox's scale, claiming usage by 70% of Chinese primary schools and serving millions of users, positioning it competitively in the K-12 segment against other platforms offering digital study materials and personalized learning. |
| Oct 2017 | Series B | BAI capital (lead); Baidu Ventures; TAL Education; New World Strategic Investment | $30M | $273M | KnowBox is a Beijing-based EdTech company providing online education platforms and services. KnowBox operated in China's competitive EdTech market, focusing on digital learning solutions amid rising investment in the sector, with total EdTech capital invested reaching $805M in 2017 per market reports. On October 12, 2017, it completed a funding round with investors including Baidu Capital (also known as Baidu Ventures), Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI Capital), Genesis Capital, Haoweilai, Legend Star, and Liu. The round featured a $273 million pre-money valuation, as reported in private placement activity summaries. Later rounds included larger investments like a $150M Series D in 2019. The company continued growth, rebranding to Smallbox after closing a $150M Series D in May 2019 led by Chinese investors. |
| Oct 2016 | Series B | Legend Star | $15M | $104M | - |
| Oct 2015 | Series A | TAL Education (lead); Legend Star; Richard Liu | $10M | - | - |
| Jul 2014 | Angel | Legend Star (lead) | $1M | - | - |
Who has invested in Knowbox?
10 investors have backed Knowbox across its funding rounds, including Legend Star, TAL Education, BAI capital, YF Capital, Alibaba Group and Baidu Ventures.
Lead investors include Alibaba Group, YF Capital, BAI capital, TAL Education and Legend Star.
Knowbox Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Lead | Oct 2015 | ||
| 3 | Lead | Jul 2014 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Apr 2018 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Oct 2017 | ||
| 1 | Participant | May 2019 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Oct 2017 | ||
| 1 | Participant | May 2019 | ||
| 1 | Lead | May 2019 | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 10 Knowbox investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
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Start Free TrialKnowbox Competitors
Knowbox competitors include listed companies like Coursera, Youdao and Jiangsu Chuanzhiboke, and private ones like Ruangguru, Matific and Spark Education Group.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private | - | - | $830M | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $800M | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $758M | ($49M) | $1.4B | 0.3x | ||
| Private | $217M | - | $1.5B | 6.9x | ||
| Publicly listed | $881M | $29M | $1.7B | 2.0x | ||
| Publicly listed | $57M | ($7M) | $540M | 6.3x |
Knowbox Public Comps
Knowbox is still privately-owned, but its public comps include AcadeMedia, HUMANSOFT Holding, Emirates Mobility Company, Phoenix Education, Cogna Educação, Taaleem Holdings, Universal Technical Institute, American Public Education, Lincoln Educational Services and Afya.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $2B | $444M | 1.2x | 1.1x | 5.5x | 5.3x | |||
| $252M | $134M | 3.4x | 3.5x | 6.4x | 7.4x | |||
| $210M | $116M | 4.2x | 4.2x | 7.6x | 8.6x | |||
| $1B | $194M | 0.8x | 0.8x | 4.1x | 3.2x | |||
| $1.4B | $455M | 1.4x | 1.3x | 4.3x | 4.2x | |||
| $295M | $84M | 4.4x | 3.6x | 15.4x | 14.3x | |||
| $836M | $141M | 1.6x | 1.5x | 9.5x | 13.1x | |||
| $649M | $64M | 1.1x | 1.1x | 11.6x | 7.8x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Knowbox competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Knowbox
| When was Knowbox founded? | Knowbox was founded in 2014. |
| Where is Knowbox headquartered? | Knowbox is headquartered in Beijing, China. |
| Is Knowbox publicly listed? | No, Knowbox is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is Knowbox's valuation? | Knowbox was last valued at $1B in its Series D in May 2019. |
| How much funding has Knowbox raised? | Knowbox has raised $306M across 6 funding rounds. |
| What was Knowbox's last funding round? | Knowbox's last funding round was a $150M Series D in May 2019, led by Alibaba Group. |
| Who are Knowbox's investors? | Knowbox's investors include TAL Education, Legend Star, YF Capital, BAI capital, Delian Capital, Baidu Ventures, C Ventures, Alibaba Group, New World Strategic Investment and Richard Liu. |
| Which companies are comparable to Knowbox? | Companies comparable to Knowbox include Ruangguru, Matific, Coursera, Spark Education Group, Youdao and Jiangsu Chuanzhiboke. |
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