XueXiBao, a homework help app, is the latest educational tech startup in China to receive funding. SoftBank China Venture Capital, an arm of the Japanese telecom giant, and returning investor GSR Ventures led a $20 million Series B in the company. XueXiBao announced t
he investment on its Weibo page last week.
Online education is growing rapidly in China as students look for alternative to traditional cram schools to help them prepare for university entrance exams. Massive online open courses (MOOC) and online tutoring platforms (like SoftBank and Alibaba-backed TutorGroup) are getting the most attention, but XueXiBao (which translates as “study treasure”) is different because it is geared toward junior high and high school students who need fast help with their math, science, or English schoolwork.
Students upload text, math problems, or diagrams to the app, which uses image and optical-character recognition technology to provide answers or additional information. XueXiBao claims the app processes most queries in just six seconds and has a 85 to 95 percent accuracy rate (link via Google Translate). XueXiBao recently added a Q&A feature, which allows students to ask teachers questions by a voice message for a small fee.