ClearVue, TAL lead $55m round for China’s Changingedu
Consumer-focused GP ClearVue Partners and US-listed TAL Education Group have jointly led a $55 million Series D round for Changingedu, a China-based education platform that connects teachers and students.
Existing investors Trustbridge Partners, Sequoia Capital China, IDG Capital and Frees Fund also took part. The company plans to use the fresh funding to develop its online platform and education curriculum, it told local media.
Changingedu, which specializes in K-12 after-school tutoring, operates under 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. Teachers and students can choose in-home tutoring or online teaching.
At present, Changingedu's services cover 30 Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou. There are more than 100,000 teachers registered on the platform, and Changingedu is responsible for verifying each teacher’s teaching experiences and qualifications.
IDG and Trustbridge provided an undisclosed Series A round to Changingedu in 2014, according to AVCJ Research. The company raised a $15 million Series B round – in which Sequoia joined as a new investor – in 2015 April, and an extended Series B round one month later, led by TAL.
TAL, which also provides after-school tutoring services to students, led a $100 million Series C round in 2015, and re-upped in an extended Series C round worth $18 million last year. At the time, Changingedu said it would integrate with TAL's online teaching resources in order to penetrate the offline market and cooperate with teaching institutions.
Founded in 2012, ClearVue invests along the themes of modernization, consumer lifestyle, health and wellness, and digitally-enabled consumption. The GP is investing its second US dollar-denominated fund, which closed at $362 million in April.
More on Greater China
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.