VIPKid

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] Students and teachers communicate via its global classroom platform.^[4]

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

In 2017, VIPKid reported that it had raised $200 million in initial series funding,^[7] and in April 2018 raised an additional $500 million in series D+ funding.^[8][9] Combined, this amount equated VIPKID's valuation to $3 billion.^[9] 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.^[10]

In 2021 the company stopped providing services in China involving teachers based abroad.^[11] China-based customers will use Chinese citizen teachers in China or teachers residing in China who have teaching licenses.^[12]

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.^[13]

• English education in China
• New Oriental Education & Technology Group