Zuoyebang

What Zuoyebang does

Zuoyebang is a Beijing-headquartered online education platform serving K-12 students in China through a mobile-first application. The company was founded in 2015 (per company history) with the stated mission of applying 'technology + education' to academic outcomes, and it operates today as a private company with 10,000+ employees and offices in Beijing and Guangzhou. Its customer base is primarily Chinese primary and secondary school students, with parents functioning as a secondary segment that drives purchasing decisions for live courses and tutoring.

The product surface is built on an integrated mobile app that combines multiple modules: photo-based and voice-based question search against a proprietary question bank, live streaming courses with recorded playback, 1-on-1 tutoring via real-time audio/video, online practice, essay search, vocabulary lookup, a classical Chinese assistant, an automated error book, knowledge diagnostics, social features (同学圈/黑板报), and a points-based marketplace (帮帮商城). Underlying technologies are computer vision for image-to-question matching, natural language processing for voice and text search, and big-data analytics for personalized learning recommendations and knowledge-gap diagnosis. Product launches include adjacent offerings such as the Cungong Platform (寸功平台) youth-protection initiative with the Communist Youth League and the Gaoyuan Zhuangliang (高原栋梁) learning project for highland regions.

Zuoyebang's business model is freemium. Core homework-help features — photo search, Q&A, practice, essay search, vocabulary, and classical Chinese assistant — are provided free of charge to drive adoption and a large user base, with conversion to paid services for live course packages, 1-on-1 tutoring, and premium learning services. Distribution is product-led: users download the app through Chinese application marketplaces and the official Zuoyebang website, with growth amplified by word-of-mouth among students and earned media from authoritative outlets. The company has raised approximately $2.9B cumulatively across multiple rounds between 2015 and 2020, including a $1.6B Series E in December 2020 that was the largest single EdTech funding round globally at the time, with investors including SoftBank Vision Fund, Tiger Global, Alibaba, FountainVest, GGV Capital, Coatue, Goldman Sachs, and HSG.

Name

Zuoyebang

Legal name

小船出海教育科技（北京）有限公司

Website

https://zybang.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Zuoyebang is a Beijing-headquartered AI-powered K-12 online education platform offering photo-based homework search, live courses, 1-on-1 tutoring, and personalized learning tools to Chinese primary and secondary school students via a freemium mobile app.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online K-12 Education Platform

NAICS

Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Tutoring + Learning Content Platforms (Curriculum + Tutors) (EDANAGAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

AI Tutoring Systems (Conversational Tutors, Homework Helpers) (EDAFAFAC), On-Demand 1:1 Live Tutoring Marketplaces (EDANAGAA), AI-Powered Tutoring & Study Assistant Platforms (EDANAGAD)

Keywords

• Online K-12 education
• AI homework assistance
• Live tutoring platform
• EdTech learning platform
• Personalized learning tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Beijing

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Live Course Sales: Revenue from selling live streaming course packages where teachers deliver real-time audio-video instruction. Students can review recorded sessions within a specified time period. This is a major revenue driver.
2. 1-on-1 Tutoring: Revenue from providing personalized 1-on-1 tutoring sessions via audio and video. Users book sessions with teachers through the platform's tutoring entrance.
3. Premium Learning Services: Various paid services within the platform including advanced learning tools and content. The platform maintains both free and paid service tiers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Zuoyebang operates an AI-powered online education platform providing homework help, live courses, and 1-on-1 tutoring to K-12 students across China. Its mobile application combines a photo-based question search engine, a community Q&A system, live streaming courses with real-time audio-video instruction, and personalized tutoring sessions. The platform is offered on a freemium basis with free core homework-help features and paid premium services including live courses, personalized tutoring, and advanced learning tools.

Product overview

Zuoyebang (作业帮) operates as an integrated online education platform offering a unified mobile application supported by multiple modular features. The core product is the 作业帮 app providing comprehensive homework assistance across all subjects for elementary through high school students. This core is augmented by specialized learning tools including 答疑辅导 (tutoring), 知识诊断 (knowledge diagnostics), 口算 (mental math practice), and social features like 同学圈. The platform also incorporates utility modules for essay search, vocabulary lookup, classical Chinese assistance, error notebooks, and a points-based marketplace. The architecture functions as a platform-plus-modules model where the main app serves as the central hub while individual tools like 拍照搜题, 直播课学习, and 错题本 operate as integrated add-on capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Zuoyebang (作业帮) Mobile Application The core Zuoyebang mobile application providing all-subject homework help for elementary, middle, and high school students, featuring photo-based question search, community Q&A, live courses, and teacher tutoring within a single integrated platform.
• Live Course Learning (直播课学习) Paid live streaming course service where teachers deliver real-time audio-video instruction to K-12 students; students can review recorded sessions within a specified time period. This is a major revenue driver for the platform.
• 1-on-1 Tutoring (答疑辅导) Paid personalized 1-on-1 or small-group tutoring service connecting students with teachers via real-time audio/video sessions, booked through the platform's tutoring entrance for personalized academic assistance.

Quantifiable outcome

• 349 million online learning platform users in China

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• China Tibet Cultural Protection and Development Association (中国西藏文化保护与发展协会)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 August 2021Zuoyebang launched a disaster self-rescue public welfare course in collaboration with the association, with scientists teaching textbook-level rescue skills. This represents a CSR initiative focusing on science education and disaster preparedness for youth.
• Communist Youth League of China (共青团)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2020Zuoyebang partnered with the Communist Youth League to integrate the 12355 hotline into the Cungong Platform (寸功平台) to jointly protect the healthy growth of teenagers. This partnership focuses on youth protection and provides resources for adolescent wellbeing.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Yiqi Education Technology (一起教育科技): K-12 online education platform serving Chinese primary and secondary schools with homework help, tutoring, and teacher-facing tools; comparable target users and product mix.
• Squirrel AI (松鼠AI / 乂学教育): AI-driven adaptive learning platform serving Chinese K-12 students; comparable in its AI-tutoring positioning, personalized learning focus, and overlap with Zuoyebang's Knowledge Diagnosis capability.
• TAL Education Group (Xueersi / 好未来): Listed Chinese K-12 education company offering live courses, 1-on-1 tutoring, and AI learning products; directly comparable in target customer (K-12 students), subject coverage, and live-instruction monetization.
• 17zuoye / Hwalong Bank (一起作业): K-12 homework and learning platform with photo-search, Q&A, and teacher tools; directly comparable to Zuoyebang's homework-help core and school-channel distribution in China.
• Yuanfudao: Direct competitor in Chinese K-12 online tutoring with photo-search, live classes, and AI-driven learning; cited as the most directly comparable player, with $4.0B in cumulative funding versus Zuoyebang's $2.9B.

Emerging players

• VIPKid: Online 1-on-1 English-language tutoring platform; comparable in its 1-on-1 live tutoring monetization and K-12 parent customer base, though narrower in subject coverage.
• iHuman Inc. (洪恩教育): Children's education app and smart-device company in China; comparable in Chinese K-12/early-childhood digital learning and in adjacent hardware expansion that Zuoyebang has begun to pursue.

Broad incumbents

• BYJU'S: Global EdTech leader and the most heavily funded EdTech startup ($4.5B cumulative); comparable in AI-driven K-12 learning, live tutoring, and freemium-to-paid monetization, though geographic focus is much broader.
• NetEase Youdao (网易有道): EdTech subsidiary of NetEase providing AI-powered dictionary, learning tools, and K-12 courses in China; overlapping AI learning, content, and live-course products with Zuoyebang.
• New Oriental Education & Technology Group / Koolearn (东方甄选 / 新东方): One of China's largest private education incumbents; its Koolearn online unit offers K-12 live courses and 1-on-1 tutoring directly comparable to Zuoyebang's paid offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/zuoyebang
• Facebookfacebook.com/bangbangenglish

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors16 records

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Zuoyebang