Yuanfudao raises $1 billion in financing round

China's online education platform Yuanfudao announced on Tuesday it has raised $1 billion in its latest round of financing, which marked the country's largest-ever fundraising in the online education sector.

Led by Hillhouse Capital Group and Tencent Holdings, Boyo Capital and IDG Capital also invested in the new round. With fresh fundraising, the valuation of Yuanfudao is estimated to hit $7.8 billion.

The move came after online education embraced huge unexpected opportunities, as schools from over 56 countries and regions including China have shut down temporarily, with millions of students studying at home due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Yuanfudao is an online education startup focused on the K12, or kindergarten to the 12th grade, sector. Its products include livestreaming platforms, online search applications and artificial intelligence-enabled English and mathematic class.

The latest data from the firm showed it has served over 400 million users. As of March, the company has opened 11 teaching and curriculum development centers across the nation.