iHuman Chinese, providing a fun and active way for children aged 2–8 to learn Chinese characters, filed for an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday. The company intends to list under the symbol “IH” on the New York Stock Exchange.

Years of well-grounded experience combined with the outbreak of online education has led to the rapid development of iHuman Chinese, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the prospectus, in the first six months of 2020, the company achieved a 185 million yuan revenue, compared with 91.763 million yuan in the same period last year. In the fiscal year 2019, iHuman Chinese’s revenue was 219 million yuan, increasing 65.82% year-on-year. Ended on June 30, 2020, the company realized the adjusted net income of 5.641 million yuan, while iHuman saw a loss of 1.272 million yuan in the same period last year. This means that the company is shifting from loss to profit.

In the first half of 2020, learning services achieved a revenue of 152 million yuan. The revenue of learning materials and devices was 33.014 million yuan, accounting for 82.2% and 17.8%. In the same period last year, they accounted for 45% and 55%, showing that iHuman is constantly adjusting its business structure.

The prospectus shows that the company plans to use approximately 35% of the net proceeds of this offering for expanding product and service offerings, both domestically and overseas; about 25% for development of existing products and services; approximately 20% for improving technology infrastructure; and approximately 10% for marketing and brand promotions. 

Founded in 1996, iHuman incorporates a learning system based on early language acquisition and cognitive development principles. With the addition of interactive features, the products provide a fun and engaging way for children to understand and master Chinese characters and English and Mathematics. Now, the company is expanding its business into the sectors of STEM, Music, Dance, and the Big Chinese.

Having the DNA of game and extensive experience in AI and big data, iHuman’s online education products have advantages in original content and Research & Technology development. Most of their products are highly interactive, based on gamification scenarios.