China-based English learning platform raises $100m

Founded in 2014, the company secured angel funding from ZhenFund in the same year and a Series A from Gene Capital and Yonghua Capital in 2016. Two more rounds came over the next two years, each featuring Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI). Trustbridge came into the first, while Sequoia Capital China joined the second, according to AVCJ Research.

Jiliguala has two main products. The first is an artificial intelligence-enabled (AI) training platform targeting children under eight years old. It comprises pre-recorded nursery rhymes, animations and games with AI helping to stimulate children’s interest. For example, it is used to correct errors in pronunciation.

The other product is a graded reading app developed for children aged 3-12. It relies on the Lexile Framework for Reading and collaborates with global publishers such as Penguin Random House and Oxford University Press on content development. Once again. AI technology is used for grading and reading planning.

Penguin Random House has developed an entire course for Jiliguala. It is described as the first original teaching product custom-developed for online courses and personalized learning. Penguin Random House is owned by Bertelsmann, the education company that is also BAI's parent. 

"I am very pleased to be able to promote in-depth cooperation between Penguin Random House and Jiliguala. Jiliguala's competitive edge lies in the ability to create high-quality content and the accumulation of a pool of 50 million parents," said Annabelle Long, founding partner of BAI.

Long believes that early-stage education can deliver a higher customer conversion rate than the K-12 space because it is driven by the purchasing decisions of younger parents. Companies in this area have the opportunity to establish relationships with customers at an early stage, relying on word-of-mouth marketing.

Other investment activity in early-stage education - specifically for English language tuition - includes a $120 million Series C for Palfish, which is also known as Banyu. Larger competitors are also entering the space, notably Yuanfudao, a market leader in K-12, and ByteDance, owner of short video platforms Douyin and TikTok.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Expansion
• Technology
• China
• Tencent
• Bertelsmann Asia Investments
• Education
• artificial intelligence
• Trustbridge