Zuoyebang gets big boost from online user traffic

Chinese online education firm Zuoyebang is gaining some momentum with user traffic playing a critical role, according to its top executive.

Su Jing, vice-president of Zuoyebang, said in an interview with China Daily that, this past summer, the platform's livestreaming courses attracted 1.98 million users, 60 percent of whom came from another core education product from the firm.

"The move shows that our abundant user base has started to pay off. Such users will play a critical role in sustainably boosting our business," Su said during the World Internet Conference, which ended earlier this week.

Su said that the firm is also promoting a VIP function in its business, which enables students to take a picture of their questions and search for answers. The new business allows paid users to learn through a detailed video.

Her remarks came at a time when the online education has gone through an unstable period, where authorities have implemented tough measures to regulate the industry.

Yet recently, the Ministry of Education and 10 other ministries made a rare guideline, which encourages startups and private capital firms to join the segment to meet diversified education demands.

"Regulations are good for leading companies as the market will become healthier and more concentrated," Su explained.

Founded in 2014, Zuoyebang is an after-school mentoring platform. Its core business currently includes Zuoyebang Yike, an online livestreaming course.

The Beijing-based firm raised $350 million in its latest series D financing last year, with top investors such as Goldman Sachs, Sequoia Capital China and GGV Capital.

Steven Ji, co-founder of Sequoia Capital, said earlier: "We are optimistic about the prospect of Chinese online education and we think that the country is expected to generate a group of education companies valued at several billion dollars."

"We are not in a hurry to go public. Before that, we hope to achieve a better business performance and build a more solid foundation," said Hou Jianbin, founder and CEO of Zuoyebang, earlier to China Daily.

The latest data showed that the firm has had 120 million active monthly users across the nation.