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- VIPKID
VIPKID Revenue, Valuation, Funding & Investors
VIPKID is valued at $4.5B as of September 2019.
Last VIPKID valuation
$4.5B
Series E · Sep 2019
Last VIPKID funding round
$150M
Series E · Sep 2019
VIPKID revenue
$750M
Series D · Apr 2018
Key investors in VIPKID
HSG
Sinovation Ventures
Tencent
YF Capital
Northern Light Venture Capital
Learn Capital
About VIPKID
VIPKid is a Beijing-headquartered edtech company connecting children primarily in China with North American teachers for live online English immersion classes. Its platform supports one-on-one sessions using interactive whiteboards and curriculum aligned to international standards. Founded in 2013, VIPKid previously scaled to serve students across Asia before pivoting amid regulatory changes.
Founded
2013
HQ
Website
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2C
Revenue model
Commission, Subscription
Revenue
$750M (Apr 2018)
Valuation
$4.5B (Sep 2019)
VIPKID Valuation
VIPKID is currently valued at $4.5B, based on its Series E in September 2019.
The $150M round was led by Tencent.
VIPKID's valuation has grown 3.0x from $1.5B at its Series D in August 2017 to $4.5B in September 2019, across 3 priced rounds.
VIPKID valuation by funding round
Revenue multiple| Date | Stage | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2019 | Series E | $4.5B | - |
| Apr 2018 | Series D | $3B | 4.0x |
| Aug 2017 | Series D | $1.5B | - |
VIPKID Revenue
VIPKID's latest recorded revenue is $750M, as of its Series D in April 2018. At a $3B valuation, that implies a 4.0x revenue multiple.
VIPKID revenue by funding round
| Date | Revenue * | Valuation | Revenue Multiple | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2018 | $750M | $3B | 4.0x | Series D |
* Revenue (or ARR) figures are the values recorded alongside each funding round. Typically run-rate revenue at the time of the deal, or a reported LTM (last 12 months) revenue.
VIPKID Funding History
VIPKID has raised a total of $975M across 6 funding rounds.
VIPKID's first fundraising round was a $5M Series A in May 2014. The most recent completed round was a $150M Series E in September 2019.
VIPKID funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2019 | Series E | Tencent (lead) | $150M | $4.5B | VIPKid is an online education platform that connects Chinese students with North American English-speaking teachers for live video tutoring sessions. As of 2019, the company operated with more than 70,000 teachers and served over 600,000 students, positioning itself as one of the largest online English tutoring services globally. In September 2019, VIPKid completed a Series E funding round for $150 million led by Tencent Holdings. The funding round was preceded by significant investor interest and regulatory scrutiny; VIPKid had originally sought $500 million but adjusted its target to $150 million as some investors expressed skepticism about the business model and Chinese regulatory tightening of the online education sector occurred. Prior to this round, VIPKid raised $500 million in a Series D+ round in June 2018, which valued the company at approximately $3 billion. |
| Apr 2018 | Series D | Coatue (lead); HSG (lead); Tencent (lead); YF Capital (lead); Learn Capital; Northern Light Venture Capital; Sinovation Ventures; Bryant Stibel Investments | $500M | $3B | VIPKID is a Beijing-based online education platform founded in 2013 that connects Chinese children aged 4-12 with native English-speaking teachers from North America for one-on-one live online English lessons. It positions itself as the world's largest online English education platform, leveraging technologies like AI and facial recognition for real-time feedback and personalized learning. The company had grown to over 40,000 teachers and 300,000 paying students across 35 countries by mid-2018, up from 20,000 teachers and 200,000 students the prior year. In June 2018, VIPKID closed a $500 million Series D+ funding round co-led by Coatue Management, Tencent, Sequoia Capital China (HSG), and Yunfeng Capital (YF Capital), with participation from prior investors including Bryant Stibel Investments, Learn Capital, Northern Light Venture Capital, and Sinovation Ventures. This round valued the company at over $3 billion (RMB 20 billion or ~$2.9-3 billion USD), more than doubling its prior $1.5 billion valuation from an August 2017 raise, and marking the largest funding round in online education history at the time. The funds were earmarked for recruiting more North American teachers, expanding the technology and product teams, global expansion, and diversifying into subjects like math and a Mandarin platform (Lingo Bus) for overseas kids. Financial traction included reported cash sales of 3.54 billion yuan in 2017 and CEO Cindy Mi stating revenue of 5 billion yuan (~$750 million USD) for the fiscal year ended March 2017, with projections for further growth to 2.4 million students by 2019. The round occurred amid a booming Chinese K12 online education market projected to reach 350 billion yuan in 2018, with $1.5 billion in H1 2018 financing alone. VIPKID competed with players like DadaABC, 51Talk, New Oriental, and TAL Education. Investors highlighted VIPKID's innovation in revamping global education through live video streaming, online learning, and e-commerce elements. Prior to this, VIPKID had raised about $850 million total since inception. |
| Aug 2017 | Series D | HSG (lead); Tencent (lead); YF Capital; Sinovation Ventures; Wendi Murdoch | $200M | $1.5B | VIPKID is an online education platform founded in 2013 that connects North American English teachers with primarily Chinese students for one-on-one lessons. The company raised $200 million in an earlier Series D round on August 23, 2017, led by Sequoia Capital China with participation from Tencent, Yunfeng Capital, and Matrix Partners China, though the query lists HSG, Sinovation Ventures, Tencent, Wendi Murdoch, and YF Capital (YF likely Yunfeng). This round valued VIPKID at $1.5 billion post-money, according to Bloomberg as reported by TechCrunch, granting it unicorn status. At the time, VIPKID reported strong traction with over 20,000 teachers delivering lessons to 200,000 paying students across 32 countries. It achieved $60 million in monthly revenue in July 2017, projecting $750 million in annual revenue. The funding was intended to build content, scale operations, and solidify product-market fit in the burgeoning demand for English tutoring in China and beyond. VIPKID continued rapid growth post-round, raising another $500 million Series D in June 2018 led by Coatue, Tencent, Yunfeng Capital, and Sequoia China at over $3 billion valuation, followed by a $150 million Series E in October 2019 from Tencent bringing valuation to $4.5 billion. By August 2018, it had 700,000 students and 90,000 teachers. The platform tapped into China's massive English education market, positioning against competitors in online K-12 tutoring. |
| Aug 2016 | Series C | ZhenFund; Learn Capital; YF Capital; Bryant Stibel Investments; HSG | $100M | - | VIPKID is an online English tutoring platform founded in 2013 by Cindy Mi that connects children in China with teachers primarily from North America for real-time, one-to-one English instruction. In August 2016, the company announced a $100 million Series C round co-led by Sequoia Capital and Jack Ma's Yunfeng Capital. Bryant Stibel Investments, the venture capital firm co-founded by Kobe Bryant and Jeff Stibel, participated in the round, marking the firm's first investment in education and second investment in China. At the time of the Series C funding, VIPKID had expanded to more than 3,000 foreign teachers from the US and Canada, over 500,000 registered users, and more than 30,000 paying customers. The company was hiring over 1,000 instructors per month and planned to use the funding to accelerate curriculum and product development while expanding its teacher network and globalizing its platform. VIPKID would go on to raise a $200 million Series D in August 2017 at a $1.5 billion valuation, followed by a $500 million Series D+ round in 2018 that valued the company at over $3 billion, establishing it as a leading player in the online education space. |
| Oct 2015 | Series B | Northern Light Venture Capital (lead); Sinovation Ventures; HSG | $20M | - | VIPKID is an online education platform that connects Chinese students with North American teachers for one-on-one English language instruction. The company was founded in 2013 and had achieved significant scale by 2015, operating a marketplace that paired students with native English-speaking instructors through real-time video lessons. The Series B funding round, led by Northern Light Venture Capital in October 2015, raised $20 million but did not publicly disclose the company's valuation at that time. By August 2017, approximately two years after this Series B round, VIPKID had grown substantially to over 20,000 teachers and 200,000 paying students across 32 countries when it raised $200 million at a $1.5 billion valuation. The company continued rapid expansion, eventually raising $500 million in a Series D+ round in 2018 at a $3.1 billion valuation, demonstrating the significant growth trajectory from its Series B stage. Specific financial metrics such as revenue, EBITDA, and post-money valuation for the October 2015 Series B round are not available in public sources. |
| May 2014 | Series A | Matrix Partners China (lead); Innovation Works; Sinovation Ventures; HSG | $5M | - | VIPKID is an online English tutoring platform founded in 2013 that was formally launched in 2014. The company connects North American teachers with Chinese students aged 4 to 12 through real-time, one-to-one instruction. VIPKID's Series A round in October 2014 raised $5 million from Matrix Partners China, Sinovation Ventures, and Sequoia Capital. The company demonstrated significant growth in subsequent years, generating $300 million in revenue in 2017 and $760 million in revenue in 2018, with a student retention rate of 95%. |
Who has invested in VIPKID?
12 investors have backed VIPKID across its funding rounds, including HSG, Sinovation Ventures, Tencent, YF Capital, Northern Light Venture Capital and Learn Capital.
Lead investors include Tencent, Coatue, HSG, YF Capital, Northern Light Venture Capital and 1 other investor.
VIPKID Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Lead | May 2014 | ||
| 4 | Participant | May 2014 | ||
| 3 | Lead | Aug 2016 | ||
| 3 | Lead | Aug 2017 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Aug 2016 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Oct 2015 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Aug 2016 | ||
| 1 | Lead | May 2014 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Aug 2016 | ||
| 1 | Participant | May 2014 | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 12 VIPKID investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
Sign up to see data on 350K+ funding rounds and disclosed revenue and EBITDA valuation multiples, from seed, through growth stage, to pre-IPO.
Start Free TrialInvestments by VIPKID
VIPKID has invested in 1 company to date.
Latest investment by VIPKID was on October 18th 2018. VIPKID invested in NewSchool Insight Media in their $3M Seed round.
Latest Investments by VIPKID
| Description | NewSchool Insight Media is a platform offering consulting for school establishment and operations in China. It maintains a comprehensive database of educational institutions, provides communication tools, and delivers services in management, market expansion, and branding. Devoted to sector growth, the organization supports multilateral research and media initiatives via xinxueshuo.cn to advance institutional development. |
| HQ Country | |
| HQ City | Beijing |
| Deal Date | 18 Oct 2018 |
| Round | Seed |
| Raised | $3M |
| Investors | - |
| Valuation | undisclosed |
| EV/Revenue | |
| EV/EBITDA | |
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all VIPKID investments and their VC round multiples. Start Free Trial | |
VIPKID Competitors
VIPKID competitors include listed companies like Alef Education and Docebo, and private ones like Articulate, Kajabi, PAPER and LEAD.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private | - | - | $3.8B | - | ||
| Private | $100M | - | $2B | 20.0x | ||
| Publicly listed | $210M | $150M | $1.9B | 7.8x | ||
| Private | - | - | $1.2B | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $1.1B | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $243M | $26M | $594M | 2.4x |
VIPKID Public Comps
VIPKID is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Graham Holdings, Topicus, IPE Universal, Stride, East Buy, COL Global, McGraw Hill, Duolingo, Blackbaud and Alef Education.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $4.9B | $682M | 1.0x | 1.0x | 7.3x | - | |||
| $1.8B | $393M | 3.4x | 3.0x | 15.3x | 10.6x | |||
| $15M | $3M | 236.1x | - | 1350.5x | - | |||
| $2.5B | $580M | 1.2x | 1.2x | 5.1x | 4.8x | |||
| $850M | $98M | 3.0x | 2.8x | 26.3x | 22.4x | |||
| $247M | ($78M) | 10.8x | 8.9x | (34.3x) | (2053.7x) | |||
| $2.1B | $613M | 2.4x | 2.3x | 8.1x | 6.5x | |||
| $1B | $152M | 5.4x | 4.9x | 37.3x | 17.9x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all VIPKID competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about VIPKID
| When was VIPKID founded? | VIPKID was founded in 2013. |
| Where is VIPKID headquartered? | VIPKID is headquartered in Beijing, China. |
| Is VIPKID publicly listed? | No, VIPKID is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is VIPKID's valuation? | VIPKID was last valued at $4.5B in its Series E in September 2019. |
| How much funding has VIPKID raised? | VIPKID has raised $975M across 6 funding rounds. |
| What was VIPKID's last funding round? | VIPKID's last funding round was a $150M Series E in September 2019, led by Tencent. |
| Who are VIPKID's investors? | VIPKID's investors include HSG, Sinovation Ventures, YF Capital, Tencent, Learn Capital, Northern Light Venture Capital, Bryant Stibel Investments, Matrix Partners China, ZhenFund, Innovation Works and 2 others. |
| What is VIPKID's revenue? | VIPKID's latest recorded revenue is $750M (April 2018). |
| What is VIPKID's revenue multiple? | VIPKID's latest valuation implies a 4.0x revenue multiple ($3B valuation on $750M of revenue). |
| Which companies are comparable to VIPKID? | Companies comparable to VIPKID include Articulate, Kajabi, Alef Education, PAPER, LEAD and Docebo. |
| How many companies has VIPKID invested in? | VIPKID has invested in 1 company, including NewSchool Insight Media. |
| What was VIPKID's last investment? | In October 2018, VIPKID invested in NewSchool Insight Media's $3M seed round. |
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