A hidden champion in the education technology industry.

A hidden champion has quietly emerged in the education technology sector.

Recently, RuanYun Technology officially submitted its listing application to Nasdaq, making a sprint towards IPO.

According to market research data, the company ranks among the top three in China's K-12 education technology market share in 2023, with a market share exceeding 10%.

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The founders of RuanYun Technology are Fu Yan and Zhao Cong.

Fu Yan, a native of Nanchang, attended Nanchang No. 3 Middle School from 1990 to 1996. In 1996, he went to the United States for further studies and earned his undergraduate degree at the College of Arts and Sciences, Indiana University. Subsequently, he obtained a double master's degree in Computer Science and Business Administration from the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University.

From 2002 to 2010, Fu Yan worked at Manhattan Associates, a leading global supplier of supply chain solutions. During this period, he led three testing teams responsible for R&D process management and optimization, overseeing R&D teams in China, the United States, and India. From 2011 to 2012, he served as Testing Director and Chief Software Quality Officer at Dentsu America's headquarters in Japan.

Zhao Cong graduated from the Department of Mathematics, Nankai University, and earned his Ph.D. from Indiana University. With over 20 years of experience in software and platform development, he specializes in big data analysis and AI algorithms. He founded IgnitionOne, a digital marketing company, in the United States.

In 2012, Fu Yan and Zhao Cong founded RuanYun Technology in Nanchang.

RuanYun Technology's core business is leveraging data-driven AI technology to revolutionize traditional Chinese education and learning models. Its offerings include online academic exercise libraries, homework management, intelligent assessment, and personalized learning solutions for K-12 schools and students.

Through its online learning platform and intelligent homework system, RuanYun Technology addresses inefficiencies, lack of personalized teaching, and limited assessment methods in traditional education models. These services help improve students' learning efficiency and performance while reducing teachers' workload.

As of the first quarter of this year, RuanYun Technology had approximately 20,177 paying premium users, 80,452 total users, and 329,092 monthly active users.

RuanYun Technology is establishing strategic business alliances with major national publishers and companies like China Mobile, which possess extensive customer resources, to acquire a significant number of paying premium users.

RuanYun Technology's primary products include SmartExam and SmartHomework:

SmartExam provides computerized testing services for China's Academic Proficiency Test (APT), encompassing exam platform development, test paper generation, grading, and score reporting. SmartHomework, on the other hand, collects students' paper homework data through smart scanners, analyzes and evaluates knowledge points, provides personalized homework assignment suggestions for teachers, and offers personalized learning resources and tutoring for students.

- 02 - RuanYun Technology's primary customers include schools, teachers, students, and companies with extensive customer resources such as major national publishers and China Mobile.

For instance, during the pandemic, RuanYun Technology successfully supported online homework platforms in Jiangxi Province and Wuhan City, with a daily synchronous online presence of up to over 6 million users in both locations.

In the education informatization industry, RuanYun Technology's competitors include online education platforms (e.g., Doushen Education, XueDa Education, Kaiyuan Education, Offcn Education, Chuanzhi Education, Xingdong Education, Onlyedu), smart education solution providers (e.g., iFLYTEK), educational informatization hardware suppliers (e.g., Huawei, Tencent, Alibaba), educational content service providers, and emerging edtech startups.

Compared to these competitors, RuanYun Technology's strengths lie in its focus on big data and AI technology applications in education, as well as its innovations in smart examination and intelligent homework solutions.

However, the company still lags behind some large online education platforms in terms of brand recognition, user traffic, and market share. There is also room for improvement in content quality, editing, and review processes.

Financially, RuanYun Technology reported revenues of $11.499 million, $12.803 million, and $9.133 million from fiscal years 2021 to 2023, respectively. Net profits were $0.522 million, -$0.731 million, and -$1.177 million during these years. The company attributed its losses in FY2022 and FY2023 to increased investments in R&D and market expansion, as well as the expansion of new product lines.

From a market perspective, the Chinese government attaches great importance to the development of the edtech industry and has issued a series of policies to support innovation and growth. Additionally, as China's economy grows and living standards improve, parents and students' demand for high-quality educational resources continues to increase. With the continuous improvement of large models and the enhancement of AI capabilities, the edtech sector is poised to see the emergence of more unicorns.

This article does not constitute investment advice.