Huaxing, Hillhouse lead $50m round for China's Hetao 101

The round was led by Huaxing Growth Capital - an investment arm of China Renaissance - and Hillhouse Capital. Zhongyuan Capital, We Capital, Source Code Capital, and XVC also participated.

This is said to be the largest funding round for a children-focused computer programming education business in China. It comes less than four months after Hillhouse led a RMB120 million (US$17 million) Series B.

Hetao 101 plans to invest RMB150 million over the coming year on upgrades to its technology and content. The company plans to establish seven more teacher centers - it already has two, in Jinan and Xi’an, respectively - to provide a more tailored service.  

Founded in 2017, Hetao 101 targets children aged 6-12. Its courses are designed not only to teach programming but also offer insights into science and humanities. The company claims 650,000 registered students.

Revenue for its 2019 summer course exceeded RMB100 million with a 91% renewal rate. A 12-month course with one lesson a week costs approximately RMB2,000. Current promotions aimed at enlarging the student base include a five-class series for RMB9.9. Hetao 101's ultimate goal is to make programming a subject area for every child in China.

According to CTO Yuhang Wang, the company utilizes a double-teacher system - one human and the other artificial intelligence (AI). The AI system can track a student's progress in real-time and help address errors. The human tutor follows up with open questions.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Consumer
• Greater China
• Technology
• Early-stage
• China
• artificial intelligence
• Education
• China Renaissance
• Hillhouse Capital Management
• Source Code Capital