Sequoia leads $55m Series C for Chinese English-study site
Sequoia Capital has led a $55 million Series C round of funding for 51Talk, a Chinese online English-teaching platform, with participation from Shunwei Capital Partners and DCM.
The company claimed on its official Weibo microblog that it is the first online education company to receive funding from Sequoia.
The two-year-old start-up received $12 million in Series B funding in December led by Shunwei and a $2 million Series A round from DCM in June. The site also received angel funding from Zhen Fund in 2012.
Operated by Beijing-based Dasheng Zhixing, 51Talk is primarily a one-on-one English learning platform featuring foreign teachers. The company has more than 2,500 native teachers, up from 1,000 at the end of last year, serving 50,000 paid students.
The company will use the new capital to improve user experience, which includes upgrading its core curriculum, technology platform and IT systems. Future plans include expanding its young children's education business, moving into overseas markets, and opening teaching centers in second- and third-tier cities.
China Renaissance acted as a financial advisor for the investment.
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