Ruochen Zhu

Ruochen Zhu is a Chinese edtech entrepreneur and co-founder of Onion Math (洋葱数学, later rebranded 洋葱学园), an AI-driven K-12 education platform. He graduated from Duke University and, in 2011, co-founded the rural education nonprofit "Sunshine Bookhouse" (阳光书屋) with Harvard graduate Yang Linfeng to promote digital learning in village schools . Through that work they identified a gap not in hardware but in learning experience itself, which led the pair to launch Onion Math in late 2013 alongside Li Nuo, a former technical executive at Innovation Works' "Dianxin OS" . The company built a 100% human-computer interactive model for adaptive math and science tutoring, raised over 100 million RMB in Series C funding by early 2018 and 300 million yuan in Series D by April 2019, with FreeS Fund (峰瑞资本) as a repeat backer . In a 2026 retrospective, FreeS Fund described Zhu and his co-founders as focused on teaching students how to learn autonomously rather than simply delivering answers—positioning the approach as aligned with a future reshaped by AI .