Youlife International

What Youlife International does

Youlife International is a Shanghai-headquartered, NASDAQ-listed (YOUL, July 2025) blue-collar lifetime service platform operating across four integrated pillars: vocational education (via subsidiary Tiankun International Education Group, managing 29 vocational schools and 25 curriculum projects across 43 cities/counties in 18 Chinese provinces with 65,000+ registered students), HR recruitment (results-based blue-collar supply chain serving 120+ Fortune 500 China companies and 50,000+ cumulative service enterprises), employee management (12 outsourced HR products through the Youlan Talent brand, the largest blue-collar employee management provider in China), and post-employment market services. The company's core technology is the proprietary Kuixing Smart Platform, described as a "one platform with seven modules" architecture, supplemented by a nationwide OMO recruitment platform (Anlian HR acquisition), digital employees/intelligent agents, and an emerging robotics-enabled Workforce-as-a-Service (WaaS) offering co-developed with VCI Global for the ASEAN market.

Youlife monetizes primarily through B2B/B2G negotiated contracts — transaction-fee recruitment commissions, managed services for HR outsourcing/talent dispatch/salary outsourcing, professional services for vocational school entrusted management (Tiankun model) and curriculum co-development, and emerging subscription/usage-based revenue from robotics WaaS. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; services are quote-based with multi-year engagements. FY2025 revenue reached RMB 1,854.3 million (~US$265.2 million), up 16.9% YoY, with the company returning to net profitability (RMB 42.7M) from a prior-year net loss — although gross margin compressed to 10.4% from 14.5% as R&D and scale investments weighed on unit economics.

The company is aggressively executing a post-IPO expansion strategy: a definitive share exchange agreement valued at $137.65 million to acquire four regional HR service companies from YouheHR Group/Lightred Investment (January 2026), LOI to acquire OMO platform Anlian HR (January 2026), joint ventures with Sealand Maritime (cruise tourism talent), VCI Global (ASEAN robotics WaaS), Beijing Galbot (robotics vocational training), and Weihai Xihe (cross-border e-commerce), plus cross-border MOUs with Innova Tree (Kazakhstan, February 2026) and 10+ government cooperation agreements across Central China, the Greater Bay Area, Sichuan, and Xinjiang.

Name

Youlife International

Legal name

Youlife Group Inc.

Website

https://en.youlife.cn

Company type

Public

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Youlife International is a NASDAQ-listed (YOUL) blue-collar lifetime service platform headquartered in Shanghai, operating four integrated pillars — vocational education, HR recruitment, employee management, and market services — across 180 domestic branches and 10+ overseas offices serving 50,000+ cumulative enterprises and 65,000+ vocational students in China.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Resources Services — Blue-Collar Workforce

NAICS

Human Resources Consulting Services (541612), Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Global Mobility, Immigration & Relocation (BPACAPAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Career Coaching, Mentoring & Placement Support Services (EDAAAKAO), LMS Commerce, Licensing & Monetization (eCommerce, Subscriptions, Seat Management) (EDAFAAAK)

Keywords

• Blue-collar talent services
• Vocational education management
• HR outsourcing services
• Workforce recruitment
• Employee management

Headquarters

HQ city

Baoshan

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Vocational Education Services: Recurring B2B/B2G revenue from school entrusted management (Tiankun model), curriculum co-development, industrial college construction, and industry-education integration bases; operates 29 vocational schools, 25 curriculum projects, 65,000+ registered students.
2. HR Recruitment & Talent Services: Recruitment commissions and talent supply fees via nationwide service network — blue-collar supply chain model providing cost-effective results-based recruitment solutions to enterprise customers, including 120+ Fortune 500 China customers and 50,000+ cumulative service enterprises.
3. Employee Management / Workforce Outsourcing: Managed services revenue from 12 enterprise talent management products: human resource outsourcing, talent dispatch, salary outsourcing, overseas employment, service outsourcing, flexible benefits, etc. (Youlan Talent: largest blue-collar employee management service provider in China).
4. Market Services: One-stop market services for governments, enterprises, and blue-collar populations integrating post-employment learning, life consumption, and corporate welfare solutions; positioned as continuous growth and enhancement sector.
5. Robotics/AI Workforce-as-a-Service (Emerging): Emerging subscription/usage-based revenue from AI-enabled robotics workforce solutions (WaaS) co-developed with VCI Global, targeting food processing, logistics, manufacturing — initial ASEAN market focus.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Youlife International operates a blue-collar lifetime service platform with four pillars: vocational education management (via Tiankun International Education Group, operating 29 vocational schools with 65,000+ registered students), HR recruitment and talent supply services (results-based blue-collar recruitment for 120+ Fortune 500 China companies and 50,000+ cumulative service enterprises), employee management and workforce outsourcing (via Youlan Talent, the largest blue-collar employee management service provider in China, offering 12 enterprise talent management products including HR outsourcing, talent dispatch, and salary outsourcing), and market services for post-employment learning, life consumption, and corporate welfare. The company distributes these services through 180 domestic branches, 10+ overseas offices, and proprietary digital platforms including the Kuixing Smart Platform.

Product overview

Yougate Group Inc. (NASDAQ: YOUL) is a Shanghai-headquartered blue-collar lifetime service provider that operates a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core platform (Yougate / Youlan International) provides blue-collar talent services across vocational education, talent recruitment, employee management, and market services. Modules are layered on top, including a robotics-enabled workforce-as-a-service offering (in partnership with VCI Global), an OMO recruitment platform (Anlian HR), cruise-tourism talent services (Sealand Maritime JV), a Central Asia cross-border ecosystem (Innova Tree), AI-driven workforce solutions (Thingo Technology), and the FIIVE vocational education research think tank (subsidiary brand leveraging Tiankun International Education Group). The group operates 180 domestic branches and over 10 overseas offices, partnering with more than 10,000 enterprises.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Youlan International: Largest blue-collar employee management service provider in China under YOULIFE; offers flexible and diverse human resources services for enterprises.
• Tiankun International Education Group
• FIIVE (Future International Vocational Education Research Institute)

Products and services

• Vocational Education Services Entrusted school management (Tiankun model), curriculum co-development, industrial college construction, and industry-education integration bases delivered to vocational schools, technician colleges, and government partners across China. Operates 29 vocational schools with 65,000+ registered students across 18 provinces.
• HR Recruitment and Talent Supply Services Blue-collar recruitment commissions and talent supply fees delivered via a nationwide service network, providing cost-effective results-based recruitment solutions to enterprise customers including 120+ Fortune 500 China companies and 50,000+ cumulative service enterprises.
• Employee Management / Workforce Outsourcing (Youlan Talent) Managed services including 12 enterprise talent management products: human resource outsourcing, talent dispatch, salary outsourcing, overseas employment, service outsourcing, and flexible benefits. Youlan Talent is the largest blue-collar employee management service provider in China, serving 50,000+ cumulative enterprises.
• Marketing and Solution Services

Quantifiable outcome

• FY2025 revenue grew 16.9% YoY to RMB 1,854.3 million (US$265.2M); returned to net profit of RMB 42.7M from a net loss of RMB 52.4M in 2024.
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability12 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, major and minor.

• Thingo TechnologyflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2026Strategic partnership to integrate AI technologies into blue-collar workforce solutions across various industries in China. Three focus areas: (1) AI-driven business decision-support systems; (2) intelligent end-to-end recruitment platform; (3) vocational training programs with AI-centric curriculum. Combines Youlife's blue-collar service expertise with Thingo's AI capabilities.
• Wuhan Jiangxia District GovernmentmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2026Research and exchange meeting with Jiangxia District. Four core consensuses reached: (1) Central China headquarters in Jiangxia; (2) public vocational school cooperation; (3) high-level industry-education integration and public training base; (4) coordinated development across multiple fields. Visit to Jiangxia Vocational and Technical School campuses.
• Hunan Tourism Technical CollegemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 May 2026Cooperation negotiation at Hunan Tourism Technician College in Zhangjiajie. Plans to empower the college to develop rapidly in scale, quality, characteristics, and level — building a first-class technician college in China. Four "unchanged" principles: public institution nature, asset ownership, faculty status, financial benefits.
• UNESCO-UNEVOC (benchmark / reference)flagshipOthers · 12 May 2026FIIVE (Future International Vocational Education Research Institute) has benchmarked the UNESCO International Centre for Vocational Education and Training (UNESCO-UNEVOC) in its strategic architecture and global network construction. UNESCO-UNEVOC is the most influential multilateral cooperation network in vocational education worldwide; FIIVE will integrate into its global dialogue network.
• Zigong City Government (Sichuan)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 April 2026Wang Yunlei-led inspection and research visit to Zigong. Cooperation discussions covered vocational education, talent services, industry services, headquarters economy, and digital agriculture. Visit to Zigong Vocational Technical School and Zigong Advanced Technical School.
• Kaijiang County Government (Sichuan)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 April 2026Kaijiang County Government delegation visited Yilong County Vocational Senior High School (Tiankun partner school since 2018) and Youlife International Southwest (Chengdu) Headquarters. Discussions on deepening collaboration between government, enterprises, and schools — county vocational education planning, industrial layout, talent cultivation, cooperative education, employment security, digital agriculture, and cultural tourism.
• Shenzhen Bao'an District GovernmentflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2026Comprehensive cooperation agreements on construction of skilled talent ecosystem, full-industry-chain human resources services, and global expansion in the Greater Bay Area. Plans to establish a joint venture in the Greater Bay Area; technician college projects in Jiangmen, Shaoguan; explores human-machine collaboration and digital employees.
• Tianshan Talent Intelligence Development Co., Ltd. (12th Division Party Committee, Xinjiang)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 March 2026Strategic cooperation agreement signed at 12th Division Party Committee meeting room to jointly promote precise alignment between skilled talent training and industrial demand in Xinjiang and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. Focus areas: skilled talent cultivation, human resource development, school-enterprise cooperation; visits to Xinjiang Airport Group Aviation Industry Training Base and 12th Division Vocational and Technical School.
• Xinjiang Airport Group Aviation Industry Training BaseminorOthers · 25 March 2026Site visit and exchange with Youlife leadership during the Tianshan Talent signing ceremony. Discussed integration of industry and education, construction of training bases, and precise docking of professional and industrial chains.
• Xinhui District, Jiangmen City, GuangdongmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 March 2026Three-day inspection and exchange visit (March 18-20) to Southwest HQ and Yilong Vocational High School. Topics included government-school-enterprise collaborative education, industry-education integration, and industrial talent services. Plans to build Xinhui Technician College into a first-class high-level technician college in the Greater Bay Area.
• Pengshui County People's GovernmentmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 March 2026Comprehensive cooperation agreement for vocational education empowerment, industry-education integration, and skilled talent cultivation. Youlife was the only vocational education partner among ten key projects signed at the 2026 Q1 Investment Promotion Project Signing Ceremony. Focus on ecological agriculture, cultural tourism health, and high skilled talent training bases.
• Weihai Xihe E-commerce Co., Ltd.majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 March 2026Joint venture agreement to deepen cross-border e-commerce industry-education integration. Joint development of courses, co-construction of training bases, talent training, and introduction of real industry projects; targets the "teaching is practice, practice is employment" outcome.
• Beijing Galbot Co., Ltd.majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 March 2026Joint venture for robotics-focused vocational training. Cited among the company's disclosed strategic initiatives in the YOUL stock summary.
• Lushan County Party Committee, Pingdingshan City, Henan ProvinceminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 March 2026Inspection visit to Shanghai HQ. Discussion on local vocational education development, talent cultivation systems, and government-enterprise collaborative services. Reached preliminary cooperation intentions on jointly building vocational education parks, "order-based" talent training, and optimizing professional settings.
• Tongjiang County People's GovernmentmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 February 2026Cooperation agreement for vocational education, talent cultivation, and county-level economic empowerment. Focus on improving quality and expansion of vocational education, cultivating high skilled talents, and building industry-education integration bases. Tongjiang is recognized as the "Hometown of Chinese Tremella" and former Sichuan-Shaanxi revolutionary base area.
• Innova Tree (Kazakhstan)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 February 2026Non-binding MOU for strategic cooperation to build a cross-border vocational education and workforce services ecosystem in Central Asia. Aims to create integrated training, recruitment, outsourcing, and post-employment services platform leveraging Kazakhstan's strategic position. Joint working group established; plans for joint ventures in both China and Kazakhstan.
• VCI Global Limited (VCIG)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 January 2026Plans to launch a robotics workforce platform through a strategic partnership aimed at addressing labor shortages and boosting productivity in the ASEAN region. Integrates AI-enabled robotics and human oversight into food processing, logistics, and manufacturing. Letter of intent signed to develop, deploy, and commercialize a robotics-enabled WaaS offering.
• Anlian HR LimitedmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 January 2026Non-binding letter of intent to acquire Anlian HR, an established OMO blue-collar recruitment platform operator in China. Aims to strengthen Youlife's platform by integrating Anlian's digital engagement capabilities — mini-program, reward center, and live-streamed job fairs — with Youlife's nationwide offline service network.
• YouheHR Group Inc. and Lightred Investment Co., Ltd.majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 January 2026Definitive share exchange agreement to acquire four regional human resources service companies from Lightred Investment and YouheHR Group. Pure-equity share exchange valued at $137.65M with consideration linked to future performance of acquired companies, reflecting capital discipline. Expected to enhance workforce deployment and regional service delivery.
• Sealand Maritime Service Co., Ltd. (Xiamen Sea Land)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 January 2026Joint venture to establish Xiamen Youlife Sealand International Cultural Tourism Development Co., Ltd. — an integrated talent development and placement ecosystem for the global cruise and cultural tourism industries. Leverages Sealand's official seafarer dispatch qualifications and partnerships with Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Disney Cruise Line, and other operators. Plans to establish an International Cruise and Cultural Tourism Industry Institute.
• Ms. Liqun Yao and Mr. Jianming Yan (Board appointments)minorOthers · 21 November 2025Appointed to the Board of Directors and management effective November 21, 2025. The company also saw the resignation of two existing board members, Mr. Lidong Zhu and Mr. Clement Ka Hai Hung. (Note: this is a board/management change rather than a commercial partnership.)
• Sichuan Energy InvestmentminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 May 2024Strategic cooperation reached to jointly build a professional service platform for skilled personnel in the energy field.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• New Oriental Education & Technology Group: NYSE-listed leading private education provider in China, spanning K-12, adult, and overseas test prep, with growing vocational and corporate training businesses. An investor in Youlife's 2024 strategic round, indicating strategic overlap with Youlife's vocational education and training platform.
• TAL Education Group: NYSE-listed large private education company operating K-12 tutoring, adult education, and learning technology services in China. Operates in the same broader Chinese education services space as Youlife's Tiankun and Youlan subsidiaries, with greater scale and brand recognition but a less specialized blue-collar focus.
• Randstad N.V. Euronext Amsterdam-listed global HR services and staffing leader, providing talent placement, outsourcing, and HR consulting. Comparable to Youlife's employee management, HR outsourcing, and talent dispatch services — same managed services model, with similar enterprise and government customer base.
• ManpowerGroup: Global publicly listed staffing and HR services company (NYSE: MAN) operating across recruitment, talent development, and workforce solutions. Comparable to Youlife's blue-collar employee management and outsourcing services (Youlan Talent) at a global scale, with overlapping enterprise customers and managed services revenue model.
• Recruit Holdings: Tokyo-listed global HR services and online classifieds conglomerate (Indeed, Glassdoor, HR technology, staffing). Comparable to Youlife across recruitment (online and offline) plus staffing/outsourcing, though at vastly larger scale and with stronger digital platform economics.

Direct peers

• Kanzhun Limited (BOSS Zhipin): NASDAQ-listed operator of BOSS Zhipin, the leading direct-chat online recruitment platform in China, monetizing enterprise HR and recruitment spend. Direct competitor to Youlife's recruitment and HR outsourcing revenue streams, especially for blue-collar and mid-market hiring.
• China Education Group Holdings: Hong Kong-listed operator of private universities and vocational colleges in China and abroad, focused on tertiary and vocational education. Directly comparable to Youlife's Tiankun International Education Group, which operates 29 vocational schools under an entrusted management model.
• Liepin (previously listed in Hong Kong): Chinese professional recruitment and talent services platform providing online recruitment, campus hiring, and HR consulting to enterprise and government clients. Comparable to Youlife's HR recruitment and talent services business targeting enterprise customers in China.
• Hope Education Group: Hong Kong-listed private higher and vocational education operator in China, including universities, colleges, and vocational institutions. Comparable to Youlife's vocational education business in target market (China's private vocational and tertiary education) and government-enterprise cooperation model.
• Zhilian Zhaopin (Zhaopin): One of China's largest online recruitment platforms (formerly NYSE-listed ZPIN), offering job matching, campus recruitment, and HR outsourcing. Overlaps directly with Youlife's blue-collar and enterprise recruitment services and competes for the same enterprise HR budgets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Youlife International