(Caixin) Online children’s English learning platform Palfish, also known as Banyu in China, has raised $120 million in two Series C funding tranches, the company said in a WeChat statement on Monday.
The Series C1 round was led by Tao Zhang, the founder of the shopping platform Meituan-Dianping, while the Series C2 round was led by FutureX Capital, a new consumption-based investment firm. The new-economy centered boutique investment firm MM Capital re-upped as the exclusive financial advisor for the deal.
The corpus raised by Beijing-based Palfish marks the largest funding in the online English learning segment this year, the company said.
Existing investors SIG China and Whales Capital also participated in the round. SIG China had invested $5 million in Palfish’s Series A round in 2015, and an undisclosed amount in 2018. Whales Capital had also poured in “tens of millions of US dollars” in the company’s Series B+ round, according to the statement.
Managed by Beijing Duwo Technology, Palfish specializes in providing interactive online English classes for children up to the age of 14 years. Founded by He Huang in 2017, it currently has 40 million users.
“The latest proceeds will be used for education product innovations and big data driven teaching services. We aim to achieve efficient English learning by the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and social networking,” said He Huang in the statement.
The platform has also been backed by Jafco Ventures, Starling Ventures, and Toutou Shidao Investment in the past.
Of late, many Chinese online English education platforms have garnered investor interest. Dingdong Ketang secured $10 million in a Series B round of financing led by Cathay Capital’s Cathay Innovation in February. In January, VIPKid garnered $80 million in a Series A round led by Sequoia Capital China and Tencent.
Source: Caixin By DealStreetAsia / Aug 19, 2020 02:49 PM
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