Youdao, an online education platform spun out by China-based internet company NetEase and backed by conglomerate Legend Holdings, is looking to raise up to $300m in an initial public offering, Bloomberg reported today.
NetEase has brought in Morgan Stanley and Citigroup to run the proposed listing, which could value the business at $2bn, according to people privy to the development.
One of the sources said the company could list in the third quarter of 2019, with a separate stating it could file in the coming weeks.
Youdao provides an education platform that incorporates tools such as a language translator, an online dictionary, online courses for maths and science, as well pre-exam preparation lessons. The company has also developed a multilingual voice translation device called Translator Egg.
The company gained unicorn status in April 2018, after securing an undisclosed amount of funding in a round backed by Legend Capital, the venture capital firm formed by Legend Holdings.
Mooc-CN Investment, an online education service owned by Tsinghua University’s asset management arm Tsinghua Holdings, led the round, which valued Youdao at $1.1bn.