China’s Online Tutor Startup VIPKid Is Seeking $500 Million at $6 Billion Valuation – The Information (Paywall)
What happened: Online English tutoring startup Vipkid is reportedly looking to raise between $400 million and $500 million at a pre-money valuation of $6 billion. The financing would nearly double the Chinese education technology unicorn’s valuation from a year ago, which it said was over $3 billion.
Why it’s important: Last summer, the startup secured $500 million in what is said to be the largest financing round ever secured in the online education sector globally. As the company expands, its losses also widen. The startup saw its losses grow nearly fourfold over a year to almost RMB 1.2 billion ($173 million) in 2017. Still, the company has told its investors that it would turn a profit by 2022. China’s online education market has grown rapidly over the past few years and is projected to reach RMB 270 billion in 2019.