Chinese internet giant Netease is said to complete the US listing of its popular educational services platform Youdao in the coming weeks, aiming to raise at least USD 300 million.
The information comes two months after 36Kr reported the company’s plans to go public.
Youdao has teamed up with well-known brokers Morgan Stanley and Citigroup to apply as early as in the third quarter, as reported by Bloomberg.
Founded in 2007, Youdao initially started as a desktop dictionary and currently operates as a multi-functional search engine. Its app offers various online-learning services, such as translation and courses, and counted more than 700 million users at the beginning of the year, according to 36Kr.
The company completed the first round of funding in April last year with a USD 1.1 billion valuation, immediately earning itself a unicorn status.
The NASDAQ-listed game developer, Netease, merged all its other education-related services, including the company’s MOOC (massive open online course) into a single unit called Netease Youdao earlier this year.
According to Ding Lei, the company’s chairman, education is one of the significant strategic pillars of their business strategy, among games, e-commerce, and music.