Internet group Tencent has co-led a $80m series A round for Dami Wangxiao, a spinoff of China-based online tutoring platform VIPKid, through its Tencent Investment subsidiary.
The round was co-led by venture capital firm Sequoia Capital China and Hammer Capital, according to a press release from the company today. DealStreetAsia had reported the size of the round and participation of Tencent and Sequoia China on Tuesday this week.
Dami Wangxiao combines two of VIPKid’s online English tutoring services – VIP Fengxiao and SayABC – and provides livestreamed English and Maths lessons for Chinese students.
The offshoot was launched yesterday after roughly 18 months of development and is intended to help students preparing for examinations.
Cindy Mi Wenjuan, VIPKid’s founder and CEO, said: “VIPKid launched Dami Wangxiao to meet the needs of our more than 700,000 students.
“With an increasing number of our students entering higher grades in school, their needs for online education are increasing and more diversified and with the launch of Dami Wangxiao, we will create a new model to drive even better learning experiences and learning results for students.”
Tencent Investment managing director Chris Yu added: “The launch of Dami Wangxiao will further meet the growing demand for online education from Chinese parents.
“In its six years of development, VIPKid has become the leader in the one-on-one online English tutoring field. As an investor, Tencent is optimistic about the future of VIPKid and its product Dami Wangxiao.”
Tencent had led VIPKid’s series E round, which closed in October 2019, investing $150m in a round reportedly sized at up to $500m. Sequoia Capital China has been an investor in the company since its 2014 series A round.
This article was amended on January 10, 2020 to reflect the press release by Dami Wangxiao.
