VIPKid, founded in 2013 by Cindy Mi, raised $975M across multiple rounds including Series D and E led by Tencent and Coatue. The San Francisco–based company offers US-standards one-to-one English tutoring for children worldwide, scaling teacher recruitment, curriculum development, and international student acquisition. Funding supported platform scalability, content localization, teacher quality, and parent-teacher marketplaces. VIPKid enables live lessons, progress tracking, and measurable outcomes. Key investors include Tencent, Coatue, and Sequoia Capital China.
Keep reading to see how VIPKid scaled global K-12 English education.
What Is VIPKid and What Does It Do?
VIPKid, founded in 2013 by Cindy Mi, is a San Francisco–based (United States) K-12 EdTech company. VIPKid employs 10,001+ people.
The platform connects North American teachers with international students (primarily in China) for one-to-one English lessons aligned to U.S. common core standards. VIPKid focuses on teacher quality, student engagement, standardized lesson plans, and parent reporting dashboards. Services include live tutoring, curriculum content, teacher training, and assessment tools. Monetization is via per-lesson pricing and subscription packages, enabling scalable global reach.
How Much Funding Has VIPKid Raised?
1. Series E
- Amount Raised: $150M
- Date: Oct 08, 2019
- Lead Investors: Tencent
- Purpose: Product expansion, international scaling, platform stability
2. Series D
- Amount Raised: $500M
- Date: Jun 21, 2018
- Lead Investors: Coatue, Tencent, Yunfeng Capital, Sequoia China
- Purpose: Aggressive market growth, teacher network buildout, tech platform investments
3. Series D (earlier)
- Amount Raised: $200M
- Date: Aug 23, 2017
- Lead Investors: Sequoia Capital China, Tencent, Yunfeng Capital, Matrix Partners China
- Purpose: Build content, scale operations, achieve product-market fit
Total Funding Raised: $975M
Latest Funding Date: Oct 2019
Current Valuation: $3B (as of Oct 20, 2021)
Key Investors
- Tencent
- Details: China tech giant with wide digital ecosystem
- Focus Areas: Consumer internet, EdTech, gaming, cloud
- Notable Investments: Riot Games, JD.com, Pinduoduo, VIPKid
- Coatue
- Details: Growth equity and hedge fund investor in tech
- Focus Areas: Consumer internet, marketplace, EdTech, SaaS
- Notable Investments: Snap, DoorDash, ByteDance, Instacart, VIPKid
- Sequoia Capital China
- Details: Focused on growth-stage China companies
- Focus Areas: Internet, mobile, EdTech
- Notable Investments: Alibaba affiliates, Meituan, VIPKid
- Yunfeng Capital
- Details: PE/VC founded by Jack Ma associates
- Focus Areas: Consumer, finance, education
- Notable Investments: VIPKid, Didi, other China growth companies
- Matrix Partners China
- Details: Early-stage investor in China tech startups
- Focus Areas: Mobile, EdTech, marketplaces
- Notable Investments: VIPKid, Meituan, Zhihu, Tujia
Where Is VIPKid’s Headquarters?
VIPKid is headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States, serving global K-12 education markets with U.S.-based curriculum expertise.
What’s Next for VIPKid?
VIPKid will focus on product localization beyond China, hybrid curriculum offerings, strategic school partnerships, teacher certification programs, and analytics to track and demonstrate student learning outcomes.
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