Deal focus: LingoAce shakes up Chinese class

Singapore-based education technology provider LingoAce knows about the glazed eyes and nodding heads of online learning burnout. During the pandemic, the company has tracked a trend of students and teachers no longer enjoying the experience. So, what’s the solution for tech fatigue? Apparently, more tech.

LingoAce attributes online learning burnout to not having the right tools and platforms for proper engagement. The company, which focuses on Chinese language instruction, has therefore ramped up its capabilities in animation, gamification, real-time feedback, and immersive, interactive interfaces.

It’s not all about the tech, though: LingoAce has also attempted to improve engagement by insisting on small class sizes. The limit is four students to a teacher, and one-on-one is available. This appears to have resonated well with parents and students, with 60% of the current user base acquired through referrals.

Teachers on the platform – which currently number around 4,000 – are also said to have received special training in making digital environments come to life. For example, a lesson could start off with a virtual playground or garden, where kids are guided by the teacher to click through the landscape.

“Mandarin Chinese is one of the hardest languages to learn in the world, with around 7,000 special characters, and it is also a tonal language. Traditional ways of learning Mandarin Chinese often have a heavy emphasis on rote memorization and repetition,” says Marshall Roslyn LingoAce’s CFO and chief strategy officer, who previously helped establish the edtech practice at Goldman Sachs.

“However, being able to learn a new language requires context, engagement and immersion. We use technology to help students visualize and build context around what they learn, through digital storytelling that combines proprietary animation with tailored learning outcomes.”

LingoAce received a $105 million Series C round this week led by Sequoia Capital India with support from Shunwei Capital, SWC Global, and US edtech specialist Owl Ventures. It brings total funding since inception in 2017 to $180 million, including a $55 million Series B provided earlier this year by Owl and Tiger Global Management.

The capital will be applied to expanding the team in Southeast Asia, the US, and Europe, while building out the product offering and scaling marketing efforts. There is also an ambition to develop English language programs and enter other subjects in the K-12 space. Roslyn observes that the gamification approach can be replicated across different learning verticals.

As seen across the edtech space, COVID-19 has been a significant boon, with LingoAce claiming its number of bookings increased almost 4,000% since the end of 2019 across some 100 countries and territories. In Southeast Asia, the number grew 2,000% in 2021 alone.

Despite plans for subject diversification, the company’s key differentiator lies in its combination of an immersive, fun-focused approach with a specialization in Chinese, which has experienced strong traction in recent years in terms of recognition as a global language.

According to official data, around 40 million people have now taken some form of standardized Chinese proficiency exam, such as the HSK. The number of people learning Chinese outside of China is estimated to be 180 million and growing at 14% a year.

“We believe that leveraging technology in learning a new language like Mandarin Chinese can be fun, engaging,” Roslyn says. “Post-pandemic, we expect continuing demand for learning online to supplement in-person, and school education. The experience that learners, parents and teachers have had with technology-enabled learning has ushered in a new era of education.”

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Technology
• Expansion
• Singapore
• Education
• Sequoia Capital
• Owl Ventures
• Shunwei Capital Partners