CMC, New Horizon lead $60m round for China education site

Existing investors IDG Capital Partners and Matrix Partners also participated.

Yuantiku, previously known as Fenbi.com, was founded in 2012 by former NetEase executive Yong Li. The company works with about 13 million college and high school students, providing an online database of test exams as well as customized practice papers and performance evaluations. Earlier this year, it launched Xiaoyuan Soti, a mobile app that allows users to search online tests by taking snapshots on their textbooks. The app has attracted six millions of users.

The start-up has also expanded into other areas of assessment, such as administrative aptitude tests and essay tests for civil servants.

AVCJ Research records show that Yuantiku received a RMB10 million ($1.6 million) Series A round from IDG in 2012, and $7 million in Series B funding from Matrix and IDG in the following year. In July 2014, Matrix and IDG returned with a $15 million Series C round for the company.

The new capital will be used to develop an online video learning platform known as Yuanfudao, Li told the local media. The company will also use students' learning data generated from its online platforms to design school course syllabuses.

According to iResearch, China's online education industry generated RMB83.9 billion in revenue in 2013 and will reach RMB173.39 billion in 2017.

Last November, CITIC Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in Study & Share, a Chinese test preparation and training business dedicated to the construction sector. The offline training provider wants to expand into the online market.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Technology
• Venture
• Education
• Venture
• TMT
• China
• Growth capital
• China Media Capital
• New Horizon Capital
• IDG Capital Partners
• Matrix Partners