Loading organizations...
§ Private Profile · Beijing, China
Zuoyebang is a technology company.
Zuoyebang develops a comprehensive online education platform and mobile applications for K12 students. It delivers online tutoring and academic resources across all subjects, leveraging a vast database of 300 million questions. This technology-driven approach provides intelligent learning assistance and personalized study experiences, making essential educational support readily available.
Hou Jianbin founded Zuoyebang in 2015, following its incubation within Baidu in 2014. His insight was to democratize after-school education in China by integrating advanced technology into teaching. This enabled the company to independently pursue its mission of broadening access to quality educational content and services for a wide student demographic.
The platform primarily serves primary and secondary school students, delivering accessible and effective learning solutions. Zuoyebang's core mission is to make quality education universally accessible, addressing unmet needs in the Chinese education market by expanding high-standard educational resources. The company continually evolves its offerings, aiming to empower students with robust digital learning opportunities.
Zuoyebang has raised $2.9B across 5 funding rounds.
Zuoyebang has raised $2.9B in total across 5 funding rounds.
Zuoyebang has raised $2.9B in total across 5 funding rounds.
Zuoyebang's investors include Alibaba, FountainVest Partners, Hongshan Capital Group (Sequoia Capital China), SoftBank, Tiger Global, Qatar Investment Authority, Xianghe Capital, Granite Asia, HCapital, GGV Capital, Legend Capital, Sequoia Capital.
Zuoyebang has raised $2.9B across 5 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $1.6B Series E in December 2020.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 28, 2020 | $1.6B Series E | — | A Capital, Fountainvest Partners, Hongshan Capital Group (Sequoia Capital China), Softbank, Tiger Global | Announced |
| Jun 29, 2020 | $750M Series E | Fountainvest Partners, Tiger Global | Hongshan Capital Group (Sequoia Capital China), Qatar Investment Authority, Softbank, Xianghe Capital | Announced |
| Jul 1, 2018 | $350M Series D | — | Granite Asia | Announced |
| Aug 1, 2017 | $150M Series C | Hcapital | Granite Asia, GGV Capital, Legend Capital, Sequoia Capital, Tiger Fund, Xianghe Capital | Announced |
| Sep 1, 2016 | $60M Series B | — | Granite Asia | Announced |
Zuoyebang is China's leading K-12 online education platform, founded in 2015 and headquartered in Beijing, providing comprehensive after-school tutoring solutions for primary and secondary students.[1][2][5] It builds an integrated app-based ecosystem offering live courses, homework help via image search, self-study materials, Q&A, exercises, and intelligent hardware like scanning pens, study watches, and E-Ink vocabulary cards, serving over 800 million registered users (with 50-80 million monthly active users) to solve accessibility gaps in quality education across China.[1][4][5] The platform leverages AI, big data, and mobile tech for personalized, interactive learning, monetizing through diverse models like courses and tools while competing in the massive EdTech market.[1][3]
Launched in January 2015 by Baidu as a homework assistance tool for K-12 students, Zuoyebang quickly addressed core pain points in China's education system, such as complex curricula and limited tutoring access.[1][2] Founders, including CEO referenced in org charts, built on Baidu's tech foundation, evolving from basic problem-solving (database of 300 million questions) to a full-suite platform with live broadcasting and one-on-one tutoring via apps like Zhangmen Yiduiyi, which amassed 40 million users in 600+ cities early on.[3][5] Pivotal growth included Series E funding in June 2020 and recognitions like "Top 500 Global Unicorn" and Forbes' Most Innovative Companies, humanizing its rise through a mission to make quality education accessible to all.[2][5]
Zuoyebang rides China's EdTech boom, fueled by 300M+ K-12 students demanding scalable, tech-enabled tutoring amid urban-rural education divides and post-pandemic digital shifts.[1][3][5] Timing aligns with government pushes for online education normalization and AI integration, positioning it against rivals like Yuanfudao and Xueersi in a market projected for explosive growth.[3] It influences the ecosystem by democratizing access—via free tools and hardware—driving K-12 digitization, big data analytics for curricula, and hardware-software synergy, while its unicorn status and global rankings amplify China's EdTech footprint worldwide.[2][4][5]
Zuoyebang's trajectory points to deeper AI personalization, hardware expansion, and potential international scaling, capitalizing on China's education tech investments amid regulatory stabilization.[1][3] Trends like multimodal AI (scanning + adaptive learning) and hybrid hardware will shape it, evolving influence from homework helper to full lifelong learning hub—reinforcing its role as the accessible giant transforming K-12 for millions.[2][5]