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$150m

Growth Equity VC
Total Funding000k
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More about Vipkid
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Vipkid operates as an online education platform connecting children with English teachers primarily from North America. The company was founded in October 2013 by Cindy Mi, Jessie Chen, and Victor Zhang, and officially launched in 2014. Mi's journey into educational technology was fueled by her own negative experiences with the traditional Chinese education system and a passion for the English language that began at a young age. At 17, she dropped out of high school to co-found ABC English, a brick-and-mortar tutoring business, which provided her with foundational business experience. Recognizing the limitations of physical classrooms and the immense demand for quality English instruction in China, Mi pursued an MBA and subsequently developed the concept for Vipkid.

The business model centers on providing one-on-one, 25-minute, live online English lessons to children, initially targeting those aged 4-15 in China. Parents can browse teacher profiles, read reviews, and book sessions through the company's proprietary platform. Revenue is generated from parents purchasing packages of these classes. The platform utilizes a flipped classroom approach, where students review materials before a session, allowing live classes to focus on conversational practice and interactive activities. Teachers, who are hired as independent contractors on six-month contracts, are provided with the curriculum and lesson plans, enabling them to focus on instruction. A key milestone was the 2018 Series D+ funding round of $500 million, which valued the company at $3 billion.

The platform itself functions as a virtual classroom, equipped with features like video chat, an interactive whiteboard, and instant messaging to facilitate real-time communication and engagement between the student and teacher. Teachers are vetted and required to have a bachelor's degree and at least two years of relevant experience. In 2017, Vipkid expanded its services by launching Lingo Bus, a platform for teaching Mandarin to children aged 5-12. A significant pivot occurred in 2021 when the Chinese government implemented new regulations banning for-profit tutoring companies from hiring teachers based overseas to instruct students in China. This forced Vipkid to cease offering its core service within mainland China and shift its focus to a global market, now operating as VIPTeacher out of Singapore and catering to students in various countries as well as offering adult learning programs.

Keywords: online education, EdTech, English language learning, K-12 education, peer-to-peer learning, virtual classroom, language instruction, tutoring platform, Cindy Mi, China education, global classroom, Mandarin learning, Lingo Bus, ESL, one-on-one tutoring, education technology, remote learning, VIPTeacher, digital curriculum, North American teachers, language immersion

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