Liulishuo, a China-based English teaching platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI), filed for a $100m initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday that will offer an exit to publisher Hearst.
Incorporated in 2012 as Laix, Liulishuo operates an interactive language learning course that relies on AI rather than human teachers to assess spoken and written English. The company had grown to 83.8 million cumulative users by the end of June this year.
Liulishuo claimed in July 2017 it had closed a $100m series C round backed by Hearst Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of Hearst. China Media Capital and Wu Capital co-led the round, which also included Trustbridge Partners, IDG Capital, GGV Capital and Cherubic Ventures.
However, Liulishuo indicated in its regulatory filing for the initial public offering that it only raised $50m in series C funding.
Hearst Ventures had already supported a $28.9m series B round in 2015 alongside Trustbridge Partners, IDG-Accel, GGV Capital, RTA Capital and Cherubic Ventures.
The company previously raised $10m in series A funding in 2014 and $1.5m in a seed round in 2013, but it has not confirmed investors in these rounds.
IDG and Trustbridge are the two largest external shareholders in Liulishuo, holding 13.4% each. GGV Capital owns an 11.7% stake, while China Media Capital holds a 6.3% stake, and remaining large shareholders are exclusively company directors through offshore vehicles.
Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are acting as underwriters for the proposed offering.