Tencent, Orchid Asia back China music learning platform

Financial terms were not disclosed but the company said the investment amounted to several hundred million renminbi. Existing investors BlueRun Ventures, GSR Ventures, and Long Capital also participated in the round. 

Established in 2014, VIP Peilian provides one-on-one online music tuition to students aged 5-16. Through digital cameras, teachers observe students playing piano, violin, accordion or Chinese zither, and offer immediate feedback. At present, the company has more than 3,000 teachers and over 30,000 paid users on its platform.

BlueRun provided angel funding to the company in 2014, while GSR invested in a Series A round in 2016. Long Capital committed several millions of dollars in a further round last year. The latest funding will be used to improve service quality and online teaching content, as well as to develop artificial intelligence and big data technology. 

“Peilian’s online tutoring model has improved students’ learning experiences and has better-utilized teaching resources,” Kevin Huang, a director at Orchid Asia, said in a statement. “The company has kept improving its teaching quality, which gives it a competitive advantage in the industry.”

Orchid Asia closed its seventh fund at $1.3 billion last week. The vehicle is expected to make equity investments of $20-150 million in 20-25 companies with a minimum enterprise value of $50 million.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Technology
• Consumer
• Early-stage
• China
• TMT
• Tencent
• Orchid Asia Group Management
• Education
• GSR Ventures
• BlueRun Ventures