VIPKid

Global EdTech company
  • Education, Educational Technology
FoundedOctober 2013; 10 years ago (2013-10)FoundersCindy Mi, Jessie Chen, and Victor Zhang
Headquarters
Beijing
,
China
Websitehttps://vipkid.com

VIPKid, also known as VIPKID, is an online teaching and education company.

History

Founded in 2013 and formally launched in 2014 by Cindy Mi, the VIPKid platform connects paying students with teachers in the United States and Canada.[1][2] Its online-classroom portal enables students to receive 25-minute English language lessons from fluent English-speaking teachers.[3][4] Students and teachers communicate via its global classroom platform.[5]

In 2017, VIPKid launched a new service, Lingo Bus, to teach Mandarin to students of 5 to 12 years old.[6][7]

In 2017, VIPKid reported that it had raised $200 million in initial series funding,[8] and in April 2018 raised an additional $500 million in series D+ funding.[9][10] Combined, this amount equated VIPKID's valuation to $3 billion.[10] As of November 2018, the company reported having 60,000 contracted teachers to teach 500,000 students.

In May 2020, VIPKID announced that all current teachers would gradually transition to a new service fee structure and the base rate adjustment policy will be phased out. This will effectively result in a pay reduction for the vast majority of their teachers.[11]

In 2021 the company stopped providing services in China involving teachers based abroad.[12] China-based customers will use Chinese citizen teachers in China and/or teachers residing in China who have teaching licenses.[13]

COVID-19 pandemic

In February 2020, VIPKid donated 1.5 million English and math classes to affected students from the COVID-19 pandemic. Students in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, and children of medical workers were given priority for free classes.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Excerpts From the New Work Summit". The New York Times. 2019-03-02. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  2. ^ "VIPKid Joins BrandZ's Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands Five Years After Its Founding". AP NEWS. 2019-05-06. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  3. ^ "The Quick Guide to Teaching with VIPKid". VIPKid Blog. 2020-04-21. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  4. ^ "Teaching English Online With VIPKID". International TEFL Academy. 2018-10-18. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  5. ^ "VIPKID培训公司发展策略研究--《大连海事大学》2018年硕士论文". cdmd.cnki.com.cn. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  6. ^ 董志成. "Lingo Bus extends Mandarin learning offering - Chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  7. ^ ""Big Chinese" is edtech's next big thing, but its path overseas is unclear · TechNode". TechNode. 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  8. ^ "China's VIPKid Is Said to Raise Funds at $1.5 Billion Valuation". Bloomberg News. 23 August 2017.
  9. ^ "VIPKID Raises $500 Million in Series D+ Financing, Led by Coatue Management, Tencent, Sequoia Capital and Yunfeng Capital". www.businesswire.com. 2018-06-21. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  10. ^ a b "China's VIPKID, which links English tutors with online learners, raises $500M at $3B+ valuation". TechCrunch. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  11. ^ "The #1 Guide To Teaching With VIPKID". The Borderless Teacher. 2020-06-01. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
  12. ^ "VIPKid to stop selling foreign-based tutoring to students in China". Reuters. 2021-08-07. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  13. ^ Feng, Coco (2021-08-10). "Vipkid the latest Chinese education firm to cut student access to overseas tutors to comply with new policy". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  14. ^ Costello, Becca (2020-02-18). "Nebraskans See Boost In English Language Classes As Chinese Kids Stay Home | netnebraska.org". netnebraska.org. Retrieved 2020-02-18.