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Chinese online education app Zuoyebang raises $1.6 billion from investors including Alibaba

Catherine Shu
·2 min read
Overhead view of girl having breakfast while attending online school classes with laptop and digital tablet.
Overhead view of girl having breakfast while attending online school classes with laptop and digital tablet.

The rivalry between China's top online learning apps has become even more intense this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest company to score a significant funding round is Zuoyebang, which announced today (link in Chinese) that it has raised a $1.6 billion Series E+ from investors including Alibaba Group. Other participants included returning investors Tiger Global Management, SoftBank Vision Fund, Sequoia Capital China and FountainVest Partners.

Zuoyebang’s latest announcement comes just six months after it announced a $750 million Series E led by Tiger Global and FountainVest. The latest financing brings Zuoyebang’s total raised so far to $2.93 billion. The company did not disclose its latest worth, but Reuters reported in September that it was raising at a $10 billion valuation.

One of Zuoyebang’s main competitors is Yuanfudao, which announced in October that it had reached a $15.5 billion valuation after closing a $2.2 billion round led by Tencent. This pushed Yuanfudao ahead of Byju as the world’s most valuable ed-tech company. Another popular online learning app in China is Yiqizuoye, which is backed by Singapore’s Temasek.

Chinese live tutoring app Yuanfudao is now worth $15.5 billion

Zuoyebang offers online courses, live lessons and homework help for kindergarten to 12th grade students, and claims about 170 million monthly active users, about 50 million of whom use the service each day. In comparison, there were about 200 million K-12 students in 2019 in China, according to the Ministry of Education (link in Chinese).

In fall 2020, the total number of students in Zuoyebang’s paid live-stream classes reached more than 10 million, setting an industry record, the company claims. While a lot of the growth was driven by the pandemic, Zuoyebang founder Hou Jianbin said in the company’s funding announcement that it expects online education to continue growing in the longer term, and will invest in K-12 classes and expand its produt categories.

Chinese online learning app Zuoyebang raises $750M

 

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    In past years, I used to believe that Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock was definitely dramatically overvalued. This was in light of the tough competition it would face in the future. Also, Elon Musk was relatively inexperienced in the auto sector. Plus, consumers gave mixed reviews of the company’s vehicles. It also seemed likely that electric vehicles would not penetrate the market even 10 years into the future. Source: Ivan Marc / Shutterstock.com But over the last year, a lot has changed. I’ve realized that Tesla’s brand became so strong that it will almost definitely keep the majority of its EV market share. Meanwhile, the American automaker made big inroads in the huge Chinese EV market. Support is so strong that, within 10 or 15 years, the majority of vehicles sold will likely be EVs. And perhaps most importantly, I’ve become aware of the viable notion that Tesla can make a great deal of money by charging extra fees for subscription services it can offer the buyers of its vehicles.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Still, I believe that, for Tesla stock to beat the overall technology sector in the next few years, the company has to execute very well. How Tesla Can Become Extremely Profitable If Musk’s company maintains most of its EV market share while the sector grows very rapidly, Tesla will, within several years, have an extremely large installed base of 50 million or more. Along the way, the company could, by selling software and services to the owners of its vehicles, become profitable enough to enable Tesla stock to outperform the technology sector as a whole. 7 Undervalued Stocks That Could Soar in 2021 As Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas told Bloomberg last month: “Tesla is … bringing into account the installed user base and the software and content services offered to those users. In the process, it takes you away from comparing Tesla to car companies and should rather be compared to software-as-a-service companies.” A few years ago, I made a similar point about Blackberry (NYSE:BB), and I still believe that Blackberry will eventually benefit by selling  a large amount of software and services through its QNX operating system for vehicles. It did not occur to me that Tesla could also make a great deal of money using this method until I recently read Jonas’ comments and similar ideas from others. Additionally, Tesla, like other automakers, could generate high profits by renting self-driving cars to businesses and consumers. Tesla Will Have to Execute Very Well Nevertheless, I still believe that, for Tesla stock to reach, say, $850 in a year, $1,200 in three years, and $1,600 in five years, the company’s performance will have to be very impressive. Specifically, it will have to maintain at least 65% EV market share in the U.S., Europe, and China. It must fend off strong challenges by many other well-established automakers with deep pockets. To accomplish that goal, Tesla likely has to ensure: It’s manufacturing process meaningfully improves. Autonomous-driving offerings don’t fall significantly behind those of any of its competitors. Batteries are at least as cheap and have at least as much range as those of all of its competitors. Further, Tesla’s brand will have to remain nearly as far ahead of its rivals as it is today. If one or more of Tesla’s EV competitors take a great deal of market share, TSLA will struggle to beat the sector. The Bottom Line on Tesla Stock I now see a path for Tesla stock to outperform going forward. But it will not be at all easy for the company to do so. Conversely, given their much lower valuations, Ford (NYSE:F) and General Motors (NYSE:GM) are likely to outperform if their EVs and autonomous vehicles are even modestly successful. And, for more risk-tolerant investors, the shares of Electramechannica Vehicles (NASDAQ:SOLO) and Ayro (NASDAQ:AYRO) can turn into huge winners if they are able to grab just a few percentage points of the EV market. As a result, I’m more upbeat about F stock, GM stock, SOLO stock and AYRO stock than Tesla stock. But I won’t be shocked if Elon Musk once again surprises his critics – including me. On the date of publication, Larry Ramer held long positions in BlackBerry, Electramechannica Vehicles, and Ayro.   Larry Ramer has conducted research and written articles on U.S. stocks for 13 years. He has been employed by The Fly and Israel’s largest business newspaper, Globes. Larry began writing columns for InvestorPlace in 2015. Among his highly successful, contrarian picks have been Roku, solar stocks, and Snap. You can reach him on StockTwits at @larryramer. More From InvestorPlace Why Everyone Is Investing in 5G All WRONG Top Stock Picker Reveals His Next 1,000% Winner Radical New Battery Could Dismantle Oil Markets The post Why Tesla’s Rivals Are Looking Better Than TSLA Shares appeared first on InvestorPlace.

  • ‘Is my stimulus check taxable income?’ Trump signs $900 billion coronavirus bill — but myths about the stimulus persist

    Congress passed the relief bill on Monday and it awaits President Donald Trump gave into his misgivings over the relatively modest sign of the stimulus, among other concerns, and on Sunday signed the massive pandemic-aid bill, averting a government shutdown in the process. At the same time, the new set of stimulus checks do have some new rules for certain scenarios, like for people who are behind on child support or married to a non-citizen. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday these economic impact payments could start arriving in bank accounts next week.

  • Warren Buffett's 6 tricks for teaching kids about money

    The investing legend even made his own cartoon to help the next generation learn.

  • I’m 63, my husband is 70, we’ll have $90,000 a year in retirement — how can we claim our Social Security benefits?

    It will certainly be something to celebrate, and that you’ve already figured out what your retirement income will be is a great start. Americans qualify for survivor benefits in a few scenarios, including if they are a widow or widower age 60 or older; a divorced spouse from a marriage that lasted 10 years and who did not remarry before age 60; or a widow or widower at any age caring for the deceased’s child under age 16. Spousal benefits can be very confusing, said Kate Gregory, a financial planner and president of Gregory Advisors Inc. As a spouse, you’re entitled to 50% of your husband’s primary insurance benefit that he’d receive at his Full Retirement Age (FRA, which in his case is 66 years old), but he has to have filed for his benefits before you can do so.

  • DraftKings, Skillz SPAC Team Launch $1.5 Billion Spinning Eagle: What Investors Should Know

    A well-known SPAC team is launching a $1.5 billion offering that could be highly anticipated by investors given their history in the space.Spinning Eagle Acquisition Corp: A new SPAC called Spinning Eagle Acquisition Corp filed for registration on December 23.The SPAC is seeking to sell 150 million units at $10 each to raise $1.5 billion. Each unit will include one-fifth of a warrant to buy a common share at $11.50. Underwriters will have the option to buy an additional 22.5 million units.Common shares will trade as SPNG on the Nasdaq and be available for around 52 days after the offering was filed.The Management Team: Spinning Eagle Acquisition Corp is led by Harry Sloan, Eli Baker and Jeff Sagansky. Sloan, former CEO of the MGM movie studio, is serving as the CEO and chairman, with Baker acting as president and chief financial officer. Sagansky is a founding investor.The duo of Sloan and Sagansky have been partners on many SPACs over the years, with Baker involved on many of the recent ones.Sagansky is also part of the team at Falcon Capital Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ: FCAC), a SPAC launched with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's brother Alan G. Mnuchin.Related Link: Sports Betting ETF Co-Founder Talks SPACs, Undervalued Foreign Exchange PlaysPast SPACs: The team behind Spinning Eagle Acquisition Corp has years of experience in the SPAC industry including two recent success stories with DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG) and Skillz Inc. (NASDAQ: SKLZ).Flying Eagle Acquisition raised $690 million with units that included one-third of a warrant in January 2020. The company announced their merger with Skillz, valuing the mobile gaming company at $3.5 billion.Diamond Eagle Acquisition raised $400 million in April 2019 with units that also included one-third of a warrant. The company merged with DraftKings in a deal that valued the sports betting company at $2.7 billion.The company also did deals that included Target Logistics, Williams Scotsman, Global Eagle Entertainment and Videocon, which is now part of Dish TV India.DraftKings has been one of the best performing SPACs of the year with shares trading at $52.11, up over 400% from their $10 offering price. Shares have traded as high as $63.78 this year.Skillz shares trade at $19.02, up 90% from their $10 offering price. Shares have traded as high as $22.73 this year.SPAC Target: The new SPAC is targeting a company that can benefit from the management team. No sector or geographical area is singled out as a focus, but the filing does mention the management team's experience in media and entertainment.The team is targeting a company that is in a high growth industry, and has revenue or earnings growth and free cash flow generation.If the company does not find a target company, plans could include forming a separate blank check company referred to as SpinCo.Benzinga's Take: Given the team's experience with SPACs and the recent success with DraftKings and Skillz, this will be a highly anticipated SPAC offering.Units and common shares will be in high demand and could trade at a premium.Given the size of the SPAC, it is one of the largest offerings in 2020 and could land a huge company. The company's focus on revenue and earnings generation could bring in a well-known and growing company that could be well received by investors.Photo credit: World Poker Tour, FlickrSee more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Need A Stocking Stuffer? DraftKings Now Has Sports Betting Gift Cards * New Jersey Sets Monthly Record For Sports Betting: A Look At The Winners And Why New York Needs To Legalize(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.