China VC-backed education platform raises extended Series C
Changingedu, a China-based after-school tutoring platform backed by several VC investors, has raised an additional $18 million in an extended Series C round from US-listed Chinese company TAL Education Group.
This follows an initial $100 million Series C round in June of last year. TAL was the lead investor, alongside IDG Capital Partners, Sequoia Capital and Trustbridge Partners.
Changingedu operates as an online-to-offline (O2O) platform that enables students to find tutors, following a similar business model to taxi-booking apps. Students submit requests for lessons through an app and teachers registered on the platform receive alerts, based on a student's location. At present, Changingedu's services cover 11 Chinese cities including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Nanjing.
The start-up received a Series A round of funding from IDG and Trustbridge in February 2015. Two months later, Sequoia led a $15 million Series B round, with participation from IDG and Trustbridge. TAL provided an undisclosed top-up investment after that.
Proceeds from the extended Series C round will be used to expand Changingedu's services into more Chinese cities, and improve its online one-to-one video teaching capabilities, the company told local media. In addition, the company will invest in the development of academic curriculums through its partnership with TAL.
Founded in 2003, TAL also provides after-school tutoring services to students, conducted in small groups as personalized premium services or online. The company previously acquired a minority stake in childcare website Babytree and invested in a US undergraduate education business alongside ZhenFund, China's Yongjin Group and Silicon Valley VC firm Benchmark Capital.
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