Investments in Chinese digital education space continue to gain pace as ALO7, an English language learning product and services provider, receives $37.5 million in Series D financing. Besides, Alibaba Group has invested RMB1.5 billion ($227 million) in SenseTime.
ALO7 gets $37.5m in Series D round
ALO7, an English language learning product and services provider, has received $37.5 million in a Series D financing round led by Legend Capital, with GuoHe Capital and UG Investment joining as co-investors.
The round also saw participation from Series C investors Qualcomm, New Oriental, and Vickers Venture Partners, according to a statement.
Legend Capital Managing Director Li Jiaqing said, “ALO7 values the important role of technology in the innovation process of educational services. In addition, we strongly support and recognize the importance of ‘dual teaching’ because the expansion and promotion of the teacher’s ability itself is also very helpful in solving the problem of inadequate and uneven distribution of educational resources.”
Formerly known as Saybot, ALO7 was founded in the U.S. in 2004 by MIT PhD Pengkai Pan and his mentor, digital-media guru Nicholas Negroponte. In 2010, ALO7 joined the K12 English education market, focused on providing high-quality teaching products and services to schools.
Alibaba invests $227m in SenseTime
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has reportedly invested RMB1.5 billion ($227 million) in SenseTime, a Beijing-based Chinese artificial intelligence company specializing in facial and image recognition technology, the China Money Network reported.
