Kaikela Secures $550 Million Independent Financing, Leading the New Vocational Education Track --- Kaikela has raised 550 million yuan in independent financing, positioning itself at the forefront of the new vocational education sector.
Dedicated to cultivating digital talent for the new infrastructure era, leading the charge in modern vocational education.
On August 26, Kaikela (开课吧) held its 2020 "826 Working Professionals Back-to-School Festival" and brand upgrade launch event in Beijing. At the event, Kaikela announced its formal spin-off from Huikedu Group (慧科集团) and an independent Series A funding round of RMB 550 million, jointly led by Gaorong Ventures and Hillhouse — the largest single financing round in the history of new vocational online education. At the launch, Dr. Fang Yechang, founder and chairman of Huikedu Group, unveiled Kaikela's upgraded brand positioning: focusing on digital talent cultivation for the new infrastructure era and leading the new vocational education industry.
Dr. Fang Yechang, Founder/Chairman of Huikedu Group
Kaikela is Huikedu Group's online education platform for digital talent. Launched in August 2013, it was among China's earliest online education institutions focused on IT, internet, and digital fields, with over 4 million cumulative paying students. Over its seven-year history, Kaikela has assembled first-tier instructors and hands-on projects from globally renowned IT and internet companies, offering structured online practical training and advanced courses in popular disciplines including Java, web front-end development, data analytics, Python, AI, product management, operations, and intelligent IoT. Through diverse teaching formats — live streaming, recorded video, AI interactive scenarios, online programming labs, interactive courseware, and comprehensive assessments — it meets the multi-stage, diversified learning needs of users across industries, while providing comprehensive talent services to support career advancement, professional development, and sustainable growth.
Kaikela Unveils Brand Positioning Upgrade, Forging an Online Education Platform for Digital Talent
Today, technological innovation is generating new growth momentum, policy dividends from new infrastructure are being released, and structural new demands are being placed on digital talent. Against the backdrop of fully implementing employment stabilization, new vocational education has also become a critical driving force. In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, digital and online businesses have seized development opportunities, with the online education sector surging against the trend.
Leveraging its leading position in the digital talent online education track, Kaikela's independent Series A funding has established it as a new benchmark in the new vocational education space. Following this round, Kaikela will accelerate technology iteration and upgrade, particularly increasing investment in AI capabilities. It will also strengthen its own digital talent cultivation, continue expanding subject categories, enhance instructor team building, and scale its marketing system.
Dr. Fang Yechang, founder and chairman of Huikedu Group, stated: "Digital talent cultivation is an urgent requirement for national new infrastructure development and digital transformation across industries. Digital talent mainly comprises digital management talent, digital professional talent, and digital application talent. The arrival of the 'new infrastructure' era has pressed the 'fast-forward button' for enterprise digital transformation. But enterprise digital transformation is not just about technology — it's about talent. Only when an organization's people can adapt to the pace of the digital age, and technology is matched with appropriate human capabilities, can digital transformation be effective."
Chang Chen, founding partner of Gaorong Ventures, commented: "Under the broader process of industrial upgrading and technological innovation, the new vocational education track dedicated to cultivating digital talent has entered a golden age. As early as 2014, Gaorong Ventures invested in Huikedu Group, supporting and accompanying its growth throughout. Today, we see Dr. Fang Yechang's Kaikela team seizing first-mover advantage in the new vocational education track and consistently staying at the industry's forefront — truly born at the right time, with tremendous potential. Through technology innovation, Kaikela deeply integrates its teaching and research capabilities with industrial demands, better serving talent needs with timely content and exceptional learning experiences. We fully believe in the Kaikela team and trust they will continue creating people-centric value, helping more young people achieve brighter futures."
Chang Chen, Founding Partner of Gaorong Ventures
Kaikela Launches "RMB 1 Billion Salary Raise Plan," Supporting Digital Talent Career Advancement "All the Way"
Currently, China's supply-demand ratio for digital professional talent is severely imbalanced, and talent quality struggles to meet industry development requirements. Whether in education credentials, specialization, or technical experience, there are clear and explicit challenges to professionals' digital skills. As a specialized online education platform for digital talent, Kaikela thus faces even broader market growth potential.
It is understood that Kaikela's 2019 "RMB 100 Million Salary Raise Plan" achieved 117% of its target, exceeding the RMB 100 million goal and bolstering working professionals' confidence in transitioning during the new infrastructure era. This year, Kaikela has launched the "RMB 1 Billion Salary Raise Plan," doing everything possible to support digital talent all the way through their career advancement journey, worry-free. Based on this commitment, Kaikela has built an entirely new ecosystem for digital talent online education through a series of new products and services: from workplace health assessments to expert professional evaluations; from audience segmentation to personalized learning plans; from class format design to diversified teaching services.
New Infrastructure Era: Digital Talent First
New infrastructure is primarily rooted in technology infrastructure construction, covering seven major domains including 5G, big data centers, artificial intelligence, and industrial internet — each closely tied to innovative frontier technologies. At the launch event, Kaikela partner Zhu Weifang introduced Kaikela's talent development planning that combines professional advancement with practical training for enterprises, showcasing vivid case studies in intelligent manufacturing, fintech, traditional IT, and SMEs.
Kaikela has become a trusted digital transformation talent development partner for enterprises, establishing deep strategic partnerships with globally renowned IT and internet companies including Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei, DiDi, and Microsoft. It comprehensively cultivates high-end talent in technology development, application, and management needed for industrial digital transformation and intelligent upgrading, continuing to lead the new vocational education industry and deliver more quality digital talent for China's high-speed economic development.
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