China's Meishubao gets $40m Series D extension
Meishubao, a China-based online art education platform, has completed a Series D extension of more than $40 million that takes the overall funding round past $250 million.
Participants included CICC Capital, Focustar Capital – a technology investment platform under Five Star Holdings – Hongtai Aplus, and Sealand Innovation. The first tranche of the Series D was led by The Rise Fund, TPG’s impact investment vehicle, and featured Fortune Capital, Winsdom Capital, SAIF Partners, Bojia Capital, and Chuangzhi Capital.
Meishubao was initially an online community for students preparing for the painting section of the art college entrance examination. In 2017, it launched a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for offline art education institutions, which helps with student enrollment and course development. The following year, a one-to-one education service was introduced - essentially a painting-oriented version of VIPKid that targets parents who want their children to have a more rounded education.
The service has since been expanded to include small-class online painting programs – aimed at students aged 3-18 – matching the offering of industry rival Hualala. Last year, Meishubao introduced an artificial intelligence-enabled interactive class called Xiaoxiongmeishu or Little Bear.
The company claims to have an internal content production team of 1,000 people and more than 20,000 online teachers. It serves over five million registered users, including 500,000 paying students, in more than 160 countries and regions.
Meishubao’s total funding now exceeds RMB2.25 billion ($348 million). BlueRun Ventures and Shunwei Capital were the first investors, contributing RMB30 million in 2014. This was followed by three-tranche Series B. The first two, amounting to RMB100 million, closed in 2015 and 2016, respectively. BHG Long Hills Capital then led the $15 million third tranche in 2018.
Tencent Holdings led a $40 million Series C round in 2019 and a $40 million extension the following year. Hony Capital, Welight Capital, BHG Long Hills, and Chuangzhi took part in the Series C, with Shunwei joining BlueRun, BHG Long Hills, and Chuangzhi in the extension.
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