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- Zuoyebang
Zuoyebang Revenue, Valuation, Funding & Investors
Zuoyebang is valued at $10B as of December 2020.
Last Zuoyebang valuation
$10B
Series E · Dec 2020
Last Zuoyebang funding round
$1.6B
Series E · Dec 2020
Zuoyebang revenue
$33M
Series E · Jun 2020
Key investors in Zuoyebang
HSG
Tiger Global
Legend Capital
GGV Capital
Xianghe Capital
SoftBank Group
About Zuoyebang
Zuoyebang is a Beijing-headquartered online education provider serving primary and secondary students across China. Its AI-powered platform enables homework photo uploads for instant solutions, alongside live classes, recorded courses, and exam preparation for kindergarten through 12th grade. Backed by investors including Baidu, Alibaba, Sequoia Capital China, and SoftBank Vision Fund, Zuoyebang reported over 200 million registered users by 2020 and expanded into after-school tutoring programs.
Founded
2014
HQ
Website
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2C
Revenue model
Subscription
Revenue
$33M (Jun 2020)
Valuation
$10B (Dec 2020)
Zuoyebang Valuation
Zuoyebang is currently valued at $10B, based on its Series E in December 2020.
The $1.6B round included SoftBank Group, FountainVest Partners, Tiger Global, Alibaba Group and HSG.
Zuoyebang's valuation has grown 3.3x from $3B at its Series D in July 2018 to $10B in December 2020, across 3 priced rounds.
Zuoyebang valuation by funding round
Revenue multiple| Date | Stage | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2020 | Series E | $10B | - |
| Jun 2020 | Series E | $6.5B | 197.0x |
| Jul 2018 | Series D | $3B | 90.9x |
Zuoyebang Revenue
Zuoyebang's latest recorded revenue is $33M, as of its Series E in June 2020.
Revenue moved from $33M in July 2018 to $33M in June 2020.
Zuoyebang revenue by funding round
| Date | Revenue * | Valuation | Revenue Multiple | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2020 | $33M | $6.5B | 197.0x | Series E |
| Jul 2018 | $33M | $3B | 90.9x | 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.
Zuoyebang Funding History
Zuoyebang has raised a total of $2.9B across 6 funding rounds.
Zuoyebang's first fundraising round was a $25M Series A in September 2015. The most recent completed round was a $1.6B Series E in December 2020.
Zuoyebang funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2020 | Series E | SoftBank Group; FountainVest Partners; Tiger Global; Alibaba Group; HSG | $1.6B | $10B | Zuoyebang, a leading Chinese online education platform offering courses, live lessons, and homework help for K-12 students powered by AI, raised $1.6 billion in a Series E+ round on December 28, 2020, from investors including Alibaba Group, Tiger Global, SoftBank Vision Fund, FountainVest Partners, Sequoia Capital China, and others. This followed a $750 million Series E in June 2020, bringing total funding to approximately $2.9-3.4 billion. Reports indicated a valuation of $10 billion for the round per Reuters (September 2020), though one source cited $9.6 billion post-money. The company reported over 170 million monthly active users and 50 million daily active users, with more than 10 million students in paid livestream classes in fall 2020, setting an industry record. Cumulative paid members exceeded 12 million, and it maintained the largest user base in China's edtech sector, particularly strong in lower-tier cities. |
| Jun 2020 | Series E | FountainVest Partners (lead); Tiger Global (lead); Xianghe Capital; SoftBank Group; Qatar Investment Authority; Tiantu Capital; HSG | $750M | $6.5B | Zuoyebang, a leading Chinese online education platform offering homework help, online courses, and live lessons for K-12 students, raised $750 million in its Series E funding round on June 29, 2020, led by FountainVest Partners and Tiger Global Management. Other investors included SoftBank Vision Fund, Tiantu Capital, Xianghe Capital, Sequoia Capital China, Primavera Capital, and GGV Capital. The round valued the company at $6.5 billion pre-money. At the time, Zuoyebang reported over 50 million daily active users, 170 million monthly active users, and activation on more than 800 million smart devices. The company, founded in 2015 as an outgrowth of Baidu's Zhidao feature, focused on expanding course services, R&D, and new business models post-funding. This round preceded a larger $1.6 billion Series E+ in December 2020 with participants including Alibaba, bringing total funding to over $3 billion. The online education sector in China boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with rivals like Yuanfudao also raising significant capital. |
| Jul 2018 | Series D | Coatue (lead); New Enterprise Associates; Goldman Sachs; Primavera Capital Group; GGV Capital; Tiantu Capital; HSG; Taihe Capital | $350M | $3B | Zuoyebang, a Beijing-based Chinese education startup founded in 2014 as a Baidu spin-off, provides a mobile app for students to snap pictures or record homework questions and receive tutor guidance. It raised $350 million in its Series D round on July 18, 2018, led by Coatue Management, with participation from Goldman Sachs, Sequoia Capital China, GGV Capital, Primavera Capital Group, and others including New Enterprise Associates, HSG, Taihe Capital, and Tiantu Capital. Previously, the company secured $150 million in Series C in 2017 and $60 million in Series B in 2016. At the time of the Series D, Zuoyebang reported over 70 million monthly active users and 5 million paid users, highlighting strong user traction in China's competitive K12 online education market. The funding supported expansion of its Q&A tool and tutoring services amid growing demand for after-school homework help. Zuoyebang competed intensely with peers like Yuanfudao in user acquisition and paid conversions, later achieving 1.71 million long-term paid users by summer 2020 with low customer acquisition costs from internal traffic. The company continued raising capital, reaching over $3.4 billion total across multiple rounds, including Series E extensions, though regulatory pressures on online education emerged post-2018. Baidu remained a key backer, positioning Zuoyebang as a leader in edtech before potential IPO considerations. |
| Aug 2017 | Series C | H Capital Advance (lead); Xianghe Capital; Tiger Global; GGV Capital; Legend Capital; HSG | $150M | - | Zuoyebang is a China-based online education platform founded in September 2015 that provides high-quality teaching resources to K-12 students by leveraging technology and the internet. The company offers streaming video courses and remote tutoring to allow students to take after-school courses online, with a focus on homework help and supplementary education resources. On August 14, 2017, Zuoyebang announced completion of a $150 million Series C financing round led by H Capital and joined by Tiger Global. Sequoia Capital, Legend Capital, GGV Capital, and Xianghe Capital also participated as early investors, with China Taihecap serving as the exclusive financial advisor. This was described as the largest single round ever in the K-12 online education sector at that time. The company simultaneously rebranded and relaunched with a new live classroom offering under the brand zhibo.zuoyebang.com. At the time of the Series C round, Zuoyebang was one of the fastest growing apps of the preceding two years and had captured more than 70 percent market share in the Chinese-speaking world with nearly 60 million monthly active users. According to data from QuestMobile, Zuoyebang ranked first in monthly and daily active users, new user acquisition, and user retention metrics among competing platforms. The company claimed that at least one-third of primary and secondary students in China were active users of its platform. |
| Sep 2016 | Series B | GGV Capital (lead); Xianghe Capital (lead); Legend Capital; HSG | $60M | - | Zuoyebang, a Chinese K-12 online education platform originally launched in January 2014 under Baidu's Q&A site Baidu Zhidao and spun off as an independent company in 2015, completed a $60 million Series B funding round in September 2016 co-led by GGV Capital and Xianghe Capital, with participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital and Legend Capital. The platform enables K-12 students to seek answers by snapping photos of problems, access one-on-one Q&A with teachers, live stream videos, and receive homework evaluations, while connecting students, teachers, and parents. The funding was allocated for R&D, team construction, and education content development. At the time, Zuoyebang claimed over 175 million users, positioning it as a key player in China's competitive K-12 online education space amid investments from internet giants like Tencent in rivals such as Yuanfudao and Entstudy. Its ties to Baidu provided advantages in traffic acquisition and potential collaborations with Baidu services like Wenku and Chuanke. Subsequent rounds included a $150 million Series C in August 2017 led by H Capital (also referenced as HSG) with Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, Legend Capital, GGV Capital, and Xianghe Capital, marking the largest single round in K-12 online education then, with Zuoyebang reporting nearly 60 million monthly active users and over 70% market share. Later financings encompassed a $350 million Series D in mid-2018 at a reported $3 billion valuation led by Coatue Management, a $750 million Series E in June 2020 valuing it at $6.5 billion pre-money co-led by FountainVest and Tiger Global, and a $1.6 billion round valuing it at $10 billion. |
| Sep 2015 | Series A | HSG (lead); Legend Capital (lead) | $25M | - | Zuoyebang, a Baidu spinout launched in 2014 and independent since 2015, operates an online education platform for K-12 students in China, offering homework assistance, question solutions via search and image recognition, one-on-one support, teacher-created videos, and later live-streaming courses. By August 2015, it had 50 million cumulative activated users, over 3 million daily active users, a database of 950 million questions and solutions, and had helped solve over 4 billion questions, cooperating with 113 educational organizations and 370,000 primary and high schools. The team, under 100 people with 70% in R&D for search, image recognition, and machine learning, plus pedagogy experts, attracted investment due to strong market position and performance. This followed Baidu's strategy to spin out assets like Zuoyebang for external investment to foster independent growth and an open ecosystem. Investors praised the team's pragmatism, K-12 focus, business performance, and roadmap alignment. Subsequent rounds included $60 million Series B in 2016 from Legend Capital, GGV Capital, and Sequoia Capital, and $150 million Series C in 2017 led by H Capital with Tiger Global, Sequoia, GGV, Legend, and Xiang He Capital—the largest single K-12 online education round then. By 2017, Zuoyebang held over 70% market share among Chinese-speaking users, nearly 60 million monthly active users, and topped metrics like daily active users, new users, and retention; at least one-third of Chinese primary/secondary students used it. Later, a 2018 round raised $350 million at under $3 billion valuation, and 2020 Series E fetched $750 million led by FountainVest and Tiger Global at around $6.5-7.8 billion pre-money valuations amid edtech boom, with 50 million daily and 12 million paid users. |
Who has invested in Zuoyebang?
16 investors have backed Zuoyebang across its funding rounds, including HSG, Tiger Global, Legend Capital, GGV Capital, Xianghe Capital and SoftBank Group.
Lead investors include FountainVest Partners, Tiger Global, Coatue, H Capital Advance, GGV Capital and 3 other investors.
Zuoyebang Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Lead | Sep 2015 | ||
| 3 | Lead | Sep 2016 | ||
| 3 | Lead | Aug 2017 | ||
| 3 | Lead | Sep 2016 | ||
| 3 | Lead | Sep 2015 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Jun 2020 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Jun 2020 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Jul 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jul 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2020 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jul 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jul 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Dec 2020 | ||
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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialZuoyebang Competitors
Zuoyebang competitors include listed companies like iFlytek and UiPath, and private ones like BetterUp, ElevenLabs, SambaNova and Quantum Systems.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private | $100M | - | $4.7B | 47.0x | ||
| Private | $500M | - | $11B | 22.0x | ||
| Private | $100M | - | $11B | - | ||
| Private | $330M | - | $8B | 24.2x | ||
| Publicly listed | $4B | $465M | $14B | 3.4x | ||
| Publicly listed | $1.6B | $70M | $7.2B | 3.5x |
Zuoyebang Public Comps
Zuoyebang is still privately-owned, but its public comps include UiPath, Duolingo, iFlytek, SenseTime Group, Presight AI, Tempus AI, Graham Holdings, Range Intelligent, Tenable and XtalPi.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $1.6B | $70M | 3.7x | 3.5x | 85.8x | 13.7x | |||
| $1B | $152M | 5.4x | 4.9x | 37.3x | 17.9x | |||
| $4B | $465M | 3.7x | 3.4x | 31.7x | 40.6x | |||
| $748M | ($70M) | 6.9x | 5.8x | (73.5x) | 113.7x | |||
| $825M | $214M | 6.3x | 5.4x | 24.4x | 20.8x | |||
| $1.3B | ($131M) | 12.0x | 10.1x | (116.0x) | 346.0x | |||
| $4.9B | $682M | 1.0x | 1.0x | 7.3x | - | |||
| $846M | $803M | 20.7x | 16.0x | 21.9x | 19.7x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Zuoyebang competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Zuoyebang
| When was Zuoyebang founded? | Zuoyebang was founded in 2014. |
| Where is Zuoyebang headquartered? | Zuoyebang is headquartered in Beijing, China. |
| Is Zuoyebang publicly listed? | No, Zuoyebang is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is Zuoyebang's valuation? | Zuoyebang was last valued at $10B in its Series E in December 2020. |
| How much funding has Zuoyebang raised? | Zuoyebang has raised $2.9B across 6 funding rounds. |
| What was Zuoyebang's last funding round? | Zuoyebang's last funding round was a $1.6B Series E in December 2020. |
| Who are Zuoyebang's investors? | Zuoyebang's investors include HSG, Xianghe Capital, Tiger Global, GGV Capital, Legend Capital, SoftBank Group, FountainVest Partners, Tiantu Capital, New Enterprise Associates, Qatar Investment Authority and 6 others. |
| What is Zuoyebang's revenue? | Zuoyebang's latest recorded revenue is $33M (June 2020). |
| Which companies are comparable to Zuoyebang? | Companies comparable to Zuoyebang include BetterUp, ElevenLabs, SambaNova, Quantum Systems, iFlytek and UiPath. |
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