EdTech startups in China have attracted 54 funding deals in 2017Q1 worth 390 million USD (2.68 Billion RMB) in total, more than the 302 million USD (2.08 Billion RMB) raised in 2016Q1. The number of deals were climbing compared to the last five quarters and was the second to most of all time.
Among the 390 Million USD raised, 100 million USD went to a C round funding of Xuebajun, a K12 learning app that assists students with their homework and study. This is a common K12 EdTech product type in China, called Intelligent Question Item Bank, among which the top 3, including Xuebajun, boast more 60–100 million student users and huge learning data generated.
9 Chinese companies, in total, have raised more than 10 million USD in this quarter. Feicui Education (or Emerald Education), an IT training company, raised 43.6 million USD, and MakeBlock, a DIY robotics and programming learning platform, raised 29.1 million USD.
STEAM Education Start-ups are the Most Actractive
Breaking down the total by sector, though K12 attracted the most money, the majority of dollars went to the top deal, Xuebajun.
It is worth noticing that STEAM education raised 14 deals worth 72 million USD, indicating more and more China parents and students are looking for diversified learning programs that cultivate 21st-century skills rather than just exam prep.
Another trend we noted is that the language learning and overseas study sectors are leaning towards a younger group. English learning for 4–12 year-olds and overseas study for middle school or even primary school are starting to get popular. Yet, for adult learners, IT training and professional certificates, which can actually improve employability, are the most popular.
Half are Cross-industry Acquisition
Mergers and acquisitions amounted to 410 million USD (2.82 billion RMB) in 7 deals. Since last year, many cross-industry acquirers came in for education assets which are traded at a higher PE. This quarter saw 4 cross-industry acquisition cases — acquirers are from the industry of construction, food, manufacturing and software.
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