# 17 Education & Technology Group

17 Education & Technology Group is an Asset Manager based in Beijing, China.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Asset Manager
- **Headquarters:** Beijing, China
- **Region:** Asia
- **Address:** Beijing, China
- **Founded:** 2012
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** 17zuoye.com

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Liu Chang, a former Baidu and Microsoft engineer, founded 17 Education & Technology Group in 2012 as an online homework platform for Chinese K-12 students. The company raised capital from investors including Shunwei Capital, DCM, and Tiger Global, building a user base of over 70 million students across 700,000 schools by 2020. Its December 2020 IPO on the New York Stock Exchange raised roughly $288 million, briefly making it one of China's largest listed education technology companies. The firm's core product blended in-classroom software tools for teachers with after-school tutoring services, monetizing through a freemium model. Revenues came primarily from subscription-based online tutoring in core academic subjects. The July 2021 regulatory crackdown by Beijing, which banned for-profit tutoring in school subjects, destroyed this model. 17 Education & Technology Group suspended its core tutoring operations within months and shifted its focus to non-core subjects like art and programming, along with some hardware sales. The company maintains a lean structure following mass layoffs. As of its most recent filings, total headcount has contracted dramatically from its peak. The firm reported net revenues of $2.9 million in the third quarter of 2023, down from roughly $90 million in the same period pre-crackdown. Its American depositary shares trade below $1 on the Nasdaq. The firm's defining structural feature is its survival posture as a publicly listed shell. Unlike peers such as New Oriental and TAL Education, which had diversified international and non-academic revenue streams before 2021, 17 Education & Technology Group was narrowly focused on in-school homework tools. It now represents a cautionary case study in single-market regulatory risk for ed-tech investors.

## Sectors

- Education

## People

- Liu Chang — Founder, Chairman and CEO

## Questions

### Who makes investment decisions at 17 Education & Technology Group?

Liu Chang, the founder, Chairman, and CEO, maintains control over strategic direction. As a public company, material investment and capital allocation decisions are subject to board approval, but Liu holds significant voting power through Class B shares. The board includes representatives from early investor Shunwei Capital.

### What happened to the firm's core business after the 2021 Chinese tutoring regulations?

Beijing's July 2021 policy banned for-profit tutoring in core school subjects for compulsory education ages. 17 Education & Technology Group suspended its primary revenue-generating online tutoring services within months. The company has since attempted to pivot to non-academic subjects, education hardware, and select overseas markets, but revenues have not materially recovered.

### Is 17 Education & Technology Group still a going concern?

The company remains listed on the Nasdaq but generates minimal revenue relative to its pre-2021 scale. As of late 2023, quarterly revenues were in the single-digit millions. Its market capitalization has fallen below $10 million, and the firm has received delisting notices for failing to meet the exchange's minimum bid price requirement.

### Where does 17 Education & Technology Group operate geographically?

Historically, the firm's operations were concentrated in mainland China, where its platform was used in hundreds of thousands of schools. Post-2021, the company has explored limited expansion into overseas markets for education technology products, though mainland China remains its primary operational footprint per the firm's public filings.

### What is the current investment thesis for this publicly traded shell?

There is no clear growth thesis. The stock trades as a post-crackdown remnant with negligible revenue, no disclosed acquisition interest, and limited visibility on a viable new business line. Some market participants treat it as a potential reverse-merger vehicle, but no credible transaction has been announced. The primary risk consideration is regulatory permanence in China's education sector.

### Who were the firm's key investors before the IPO?

Pre-IPO backers included Shunwei Capital, an early-stage venture firm co-founded by Xiaomi's Lei Jun; DCM, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm active in China; and Tiger Global Management. These venture investors held significant pre-IPO stakes, though current ownership positions are unclear given the stock's collapse.

### How is the firm structured versus peers like New Oriental and TAL Education?

Unlike New Oriental and TAL, which had diversified into international test prep, learning centers abroad, and non-academic education well before the 2021 regulations, 17 Education & Technology Group was narrowly built around in-school homework and tutoring. This left it without a meaningful revenue bridge when its core offering was banned. It operates today as a much smaller, less diversified entity than those surviving peers.

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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