BEIJING--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VIPKid, one of the world’s largest education technology companies, launched V+ today, a comprehensive upgrade and expansion of the company’s curriculum, technology, and global reach. The V+ initiative expands VIPKid’s education offerings to now include four distinct sets of curricula, comprising six separate product lines that deliver quality content to PreK-12 students. In addition, VIPKid announced today a new strategic partnership with Microsoft China to develop smart classroom technology as well as the launch of a new initiative to expand international operations to 100 countries within the next three years.
Through these initiatives, VIPKid is even better positioned to become the world’s largest online education company for children. “With the support of our teachers and the pedagogical expertise of our curriculum team, we have taken several monumental steps in service of our mission to inspire and empower every child for the future,” said Cindy Mi, Founder and CEO of VIPKid. International expansion and the addition of new product lines will enable VIPKid to reach more children and will mean even greater opportunities for teachers to pursue their passion through teaching.
A comprehensive PreK-12 education program to inspire children to become global citizens
VIPKid’s education product team, in partnership with 11 highly-regarded international education institutions, including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) and Oxford University Press, has developed an unprecedented digital education ecosystem for PreK-12 students globally. Cindy Mi said, “With over 60,000 teachers in the U.S. and Canada, VIPKid is the largest community of online English language teachers in the world, and the V+ initiative will complement cutting-edge teaching practices to help foster the next generation of global citizens.”
New product lines to provide a comprehensive suite of content for PreK-12 students
VIPKid announced today the launch of four new product lines that will complement the existing VIPKid and Lingo Bus brands to provide a comprehensive suite of content for all ages up to 18 years old. New product lines include:
- 自由星球 (“Freedom Planet”) for children ages 0-4 focusing on the parent-child relationship;
- Big Bear English for children ages 3-6 providing English courses and tools for Chinese families to prepare children for future language learning;
- SayABC for children ages 5-12 providing English courses through a one-on-four digital classroom to over 300,000 registered users; and
- VIP Bee School, an online dual-teacher English learning platform for large classes of students ages 9-15.
International expansion of operations to 100 countries in the next three years
VIPKid also announced its plan to open seven offices in cities outside of China (bringing the total number of overseas offices to ten) and to expand services to 100 countries in the next three years. VIPKid currently has over 500,000 paying students located in 63 countries, including Japan, France, and Brazil. VIPKid recently launched operations in Korea and entered into a strategic content partnership with SMARTSTUDY, a popular Korea children’s education content company well-known for their PINKFONG franchise.
“We are confident that the unparalleled quality of the learning experience that we offer through our teachers and education products will resonate with children around the world. We are proud to continue providing personalized learning to the next generation of global citizens, bridging cultures and countries around the world,” said Cindy Mi.
Strategic research and development partnership with Microsoft China
VIPKid is proud to announce a strategic partnership with Microsoft China to conduct research and development on the application of smart classroom technology to help analyze student behavior and enable personalized learning.
Regarding the partnership between the two companies, Qi Zhang, Distinguished Engineer and Senior Deputy Director of Microsoft Search Technology Center Asia, said, “At Microsoft, we believe there is great potential in bringing smart technology to the online classroom and we look forward to working with VIPKid on exploring how we can improve learning outcomes in the field of education.”
About VIPKid
VIPKid is a global education technology company that connects children with the world’s best teachers for real-time online English immersion learning. VIPKid’s mission is to inspire and empower every child for the future. VIPKid believes that education is not one-size-fits-all, rather all students are unique and the world is within their reach when connected with great teachers capable of personalizing learning and sparking curiosity.
Founded in 2013 and formally launched in 2014, VIPKid has become China’s market-leading online education startup, attracting investment from Tencent, Sequoia Capital, Yunfeng Capital, Coatue Management, Matrix Partners, Sinovation Ventures, Learn Capital, Northern Light VC, Bryant Stibel, among others. The VIPKid platform currently connects over 500,000 paying students with over 60,000 teachers in the US and Canada.
For more information, please visit: www.vipkid.com
