Yuanfudao

EdtechChina
New to Unitard
βœ‚οΈ Markdown
  1. πŸ¦„
    Became a unicorn
    2018
  2. πŸ“ˆ
    Peak valuation
    $15.5 Billion ’21
  3. πŸ’”
    Became a Unitard
    2021
  4. πŸ’Έ
    Last valuation
    β€”
Current status
Core K-12 tutoring business gutted by the July 2021 crackdown; froze IPO plans, pulled advertising and cut staff.

The rise & fall

6 moments Β· 2012–2021

The key moments.

2012
Founded in Beijing
Starts with exam-prep and homework-help apps before moving into live online tutoring.
TechCrunch
2018
Joins the unicorn club
Tencent-backed funding pushes the K-12 tutoring company past $1B.
TechCrunch
Dec 2020
A $2.5B+ mega-round
Tencent, Hillhouse and DST Global pile in as pandemic schooling moves online.
Bloomberg
2021
The peak: world's most valuable edtech$15.5B
Fresh off the late-2020 mega-round, Yuanfudao is valued at $15.5B β€” the most valuable edtech company anywhere.
Bloomberg
Jul 2021
The 'double reduction' hammer
China bans for-profit tutoring in core school subjects β€” the heart of Yuanfudao's business.
TechCrunch
2021
Regulated out of the club
With core K-12 revenue outlawed, the company freezes its IPO plans, pulls its enormous ad spend and cuts staff.
Bloomberg

How it happened

Yuanfudao was the world's most valuable edtech company, a Chinese K-12 tutoring giant β€” with live online classes, an automated homework-checking app and a Q&A service β€” that hit a $15.5B valuation backed by Tencent, Hillhouse and DST Global after raising more than $2.5B in late 2020.

Months later, China's July 2021 'double reduction' policy banned for-profit tutoring in core school subjects, the heart of Yuanfudao's business. The company froze its IPO, pulled its enormous advertising spend and cut staff as its core revenue was regulated away, erasing most of a once-staggering valuation.

Source: Bloomberg / Class Central / TechCrunch (valued ~$15.5B, world's most valuable edtech, after a $2.5B+ Series G Dec 2020 from Tencent, Hillhouse, DST; July 2021 'double reduction' crackdown banned for-profit core-subject tutoring; froze IPO, slashed marketing and staff)

Founders

  • Li Yong
    Co-founder & CEO
    No public profile matched
  • Li Xin
    co-founder (ex-NetEase, 2012)
    No public profile matched
  • Shuai Ke
    co-founder (ex-NetEase, 2012)
    No public profile matched

More from the club

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