Beijing-based online learning platform XuetangX has raised over $14 million in a Series B round of financing led by investment firm Muhua Capital.
XuetangX’s existing shareholders Gaorong Capital and Redpoint China Ventures also participated in the new funding round.
Founded by Tsinghua University in 2013, XuetangX is the world’s first Chinese Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) platform authorized to operate edX courses in the Chinese mainland. It offers more than 2,600 online courses provided by best universities from across the world, including Tsinghua University, Peking University, Fudan University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, etc. XuetangX is also developing Chinese courses together with institutions such as Stanford Online and ACCA. It also has a course exchange program with FUN France and NILE Korea.
XuetangX aims to provide the advance of systematic educations to the public and offer the opportunity for every single Chinese to enjoy the best educations that are available around the world. The platform currently has over 30 million registered users.
Besides offering various interactive courses, XuetangX also hosts innovative initiatives such as AI Xuetang (a personalized learning platform for K-12 education), AP courses at Moocap.org.cn and XuetangX (10 free, four-week courses for middle school students, covering STEM subjects), Micro-Degrees (Jointly developed by XuetangX and Chinese universities), Rain Classroom (an app designed to be used in a blended learning model), XuetangX Cloud (a teaching platform to use on campus, and connected to Rain Classroom), AI virtual teacher Xiaomu, and SIELE Test (a system that allows to electronically certify the degree of mastery of the Spanish language).
Meanwhile, the company plans to use the proceeds of the new round for research and development of AI applications in education, introduction of quality courses, and exploration of a new online education model.
Talking about funding prior to this, XuetangX has raised $17.6 million in a Series A+ round from Muhua Capital and TusPark Ventures, an investment platform of Tsinghua University-backed Tus-Holdings in 2015. The company also secured $15 million in a Series A round from Redpoint China Ventures, Gaorong Capital, and China’s Northern Light Venture Capital in 2014.
