China math tuition platform adds $150m to Series E

Trustbridge Partners was the lead investor with participation from Tencent Holdings and Hike Capital.

Huohua has raised $590 million since its inception and is now valued at $1.5 billion. KKR led the first tranche of the Series E - worth $150 million - in August 2020. Tencent led a second tranche of $100 million in October.

Founded in 2017, Huohua targets children aged three to 12 years. The company claimed 85,000 daily users across its various learning apps last year. On closing the second tranche of the Series E, Huohua said it had 250,000 overall users and 6,500 employees, including more than 3,000 lecturers and 1,200 supporting tutors. 

Huohua ranked first by parent satisfaction among all domestic educational institutions in an evaluation report published by UBS Securities this month.

The company's math classes are small - comprising six to eight children - and live-streamed. They tend to feature interactive games. Artificial intelligence-enabled (AI) classes began last July following a 12-month pilot project. These are pre-recorded and students can choose their own learning pace, with the AI system tracking individual learning behavior and adjusting content accordingly. There is no limit on the number of students.

Huohua wants to establish itself as a multi-disciplinary platform. It expanded into English-language learning in 2020, offering classes for children aged 3-5, mainly by offering AI-driven English courses. This followed the launch of a Chinese-language option in 2019.  

The latest development is international expansion. The company claims to have accumulated tens of thousands of overseas students registered for regular-price courses.

Huohua's direct competitor is VIPThink, which secured $180 million in Series C funding last November. A math specialist, VIPThink is also becoming a multi-disciplinary platform, recently announcing the acquisition of Magic Ears, a VC-backed English teaching platform. 

According to AVCJ Research, Lightspeed China provided Huohua's Series A round in 2016 and then IDG Capital and Hike led the first tranche of a $35 million Series B in 2018. Sequoia Capital China led the second tranche.

A Series C round of $40 million, led by Northern Light and Wu Capital, closed in March of 2019. This was followed by an $85 million Series D in August of the same year, with KKR taking the lead. Video-sharing giant Kuaishou then provided a $30 million Series D extension in April 2020.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Expansion
• Consumer
• Technology
• China
• Education
• Trustbridge
• Tencent
• Hike Capital