Hexiaoxiang

Hexiaoxiang, registered as Hangzhou Hexiang Network Technology Co., Ltd., is an online education company established in May 2017 with a focus on quality-oriented education for children aged 3 to 12. The company was co-founded by Chen Enwei, who serves as CEO, and Jiang Qingyu, the COO. Chen Enwei brings a strong technical background to the venture, having been a co-founder of the music streaming service Xiami Music and a former technical director at Alibaba. This experience influenced the company's early emphasis on data accumulation, with a core team drawn from Alibaba's big data department.

The company operates in the competitive Chinese online education market, providing a suite of courses centered around the concept of "Big Chinese" or comprehensive Chinese literacy. Initially entering the market with a calligraphy course, Hexiaoxiang has since expanded its offerings to include subjects like writing, reading, ancient poetry, and even美术 and programming. Its business model is comparable to a knowledge-for-payment system, where it offers multiple distinct courses (SKUs) and uses popular ones, like its initial writing class, as flagship products to attract a user base. Revenue is generated from the sale of these online courses. The company has successfully served over 8 million students across more than 270 cities.

Hexiaoxiang's product is distinguished by its use of technology to enhance learning. Its platform employs pre-recorded video lessons, one-on-one tutoring, AI-based evaluation solutions for student work, and interactive learning among peers, guided by cartoon-based materials. This approach creates a closed-loop system of learning, practice, and evaluation. The company has secured significant financial backing to fuel its growth. After an initial seed round in June 2018 and a Series A in March 2019, Hexiaoxiang announced the completion of a RMB 200 million (approximately $28.5 million) Series B funding round in August 2019. This round was co-led by prominent investors such as Sinovation Ventures, Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI), and a fund from TAL Education Group, with the capital designated for further development of its curriculum and AI technology.

Keywords: online education, EdTech, Chinese language education, K-12 education, calligraphy, literacy, quality-oriented education, AI in education, Hangzhou, Chen Enwei, Jiang Qingyu, Sinovation Ventures, Bertelsmann Asia Investments, TAL Education Group, Series B, e-learning, children's education, writing skills, Big Chinese, interactive learning, tutoring