Shanghai education startup plans IPO on STAR Market

Squirrel AI Learning, a Shanghai-based startup with combined fundraising of over 1 billion yuan (US$143 million), is expected to issue an initial public offering within the coming years, Shanghai Daily learned during the ongoing Sixth World Internet Conference on Monday. 

“We are going to issue an IPO in 2021. The first choice is the STAR Market as we will meet the market requirements,” Zhou Wei, co-founder and CEO of Squirrel AI Learning, said during a one-on-one interview on the sidelines of the conference.

The SSE STAR Market, launched in late July, is designed to attract high-tech firms.

With AI-designed learning and training process, the company offers online and offline education services. Zhou was also a panelist on an AI sub-forum at the conference held in Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province.

In 2020, the company aims to have 5,000 learning centers nationwide to offer its online education services, double its current level, Zhou said.