Recently, China’s leading technology community and online technical training platform 51CTO announced the completion of a Series C financing of $20 million. This round was led by Gaocheng Capital, after 51CTO had received investments from Trustbridge Partners and Hua Kai Financial Holdings Group Limited.
As a well-established Internet technology community in China, 51CTO has accumulated 17 million professional users and built a good reputation in the industry for its influence. Since 2015, the company has focused entirely on online vocational education for technical positions. With its strong curriculum and user resources, 51CTO has developed into a leading brand in online technical education. So far, more than 6 million students have achieved career advancement with the help of 51CTO, with 15,000 online courses for Internet jobs and more than 3,000 teachers and partners on its platform.
Unlike other IT educational institutions that target fresh graduates/job seekers, 51CTO mainly serves users with lifelong learning needs. Its users generally buy four courses per year, far exceeding the industry average. Because of its extensive curriculum and resources in the technology industry, 51CTO is also regarded as a professional learning platform for people to improve their technical skills, as more and more large enterprises care about the growth of their employees. So far, 51CTO has helped many leading enterprises such as China Unicom, China Merchants Bank, and VNET to upgrade the knowledge of their employees through high-quality programs that combine “testing, learning, and practicing”.
Gaocheng Capital, the lead investor in this round, is a dual currency (RMB and USD) private equity fund that focuses on growth and long-term equity investment opportunities in technological innovation and corporate services. Gaocheng Capital’s LPs are all prestigious financial institutions, leading corporate investors, university endowments, family offices and other long-term institutional investors. Gaocheng Capital has invested in companies including Youzan Technology, Bairong Inc, Yitu Technology, Huisuanzhang, Smartbi, and UUsafe.
“Digitalization and technological innovation are the key drivers of China’s economic growth in the future. Cultivating technical talent is pivotal to the digital transformation and innovation of enterprises. As an investment fund that focuses on growth opportunities in the corporate service sector, Gaocheng Capital recognizes 51CTO’s profound expertise in the technology community and its forward-looking strategy in online technical education and training. Gaocheng Capital will fully support the 51CTO team to further consolidate its industry leadership and provide talent support for the digital transformation and technological innovation of Chinese enterprises,” said Jing Hong, founding partner of Gaocheng Capital, about the cooperation.
“We are very honored to have the support of Gaocheng Capital, especially given the complex external environment such as investor caution and the coronavirus pandemic at the moment. I appreciate the joint efforts of our colleagues. This round of financing will surely help accelerate the development of the company. On the one hand, we will continue to increase investment in the research and development of the online training system and curriculum to better serve customers by offering diversified products and advanced technology; on the other hand, we will further invest in our ecosystem and work with partners to jointly support customers’ digital transformation and technical talent upgrades,” said Xiong Ping, Founder/CEO of 51CTO, about the financing.
The rapid development of vocational education in China in the last few years bodes well for 51CTO. According to industry insiders, the breakout of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020 will further accelerate the digitalization of enterprises, bringing significant growth opportunities for online education and training. However, external uncertainties also put pressure on the company’s finances and resources in the short term. The success of 51CTO’s fundraising proves that its robust development in recent years has been recognized and supported by institutional investors and that the company can accelerate its growth by embracing the next historical opportunity of enterprise online education.
