Chinese Internet giant Tencent was reportedly considering investing in an online education platform, making an attempt at China’s booming online education market, according to Chinese media.   

Words of Tencent targeting online education started circulating last year when Donews quoted unnamed source as saying that Tencent had invested in C2C (Consumer to Consumer) education website Chuanke.

If proved to be true, the move will give the website an access to hundreds of millions of users on Tencent’s QQ platform. 

Founded in 2011 by former Iciba Chief Technology Officer Wang Haiming and Chief Operating Officer Tong Hexin, Chuanke is a startup which offers one-stop online education solutions.

The company received a first-round investment from Bertelsmann in last July and was earlier financially supported by Ameba Capital.

Increasingly Chinese Internet companies are eyeing online education in the country which is estimated to top CNY72.3 billion in 2012.

Nine of the 11 Chinese companies listed on the U.S. market, including China Edu Corporation, New Oriental, Ambow and ATA have opened online education and training business.

New Oriental Education, China’s leading education services provider, opened its online business ten years ago and had seen its revenues increasing 50% for the six consecutive years.

China’s online education market which has over 100 startups will be intensively competitive in the following ten years as more players flood in, the CEO said.

Last year, SAIF Partners China has reportedly invested US$ 10 million into Beijing-based early childhood education platform Xuehuile.com.cn, a subscription-based business targeting children aged from one to six.

 The total number of people who need high-quality education and training resources across the country reached 380 million, according to the Research on Online Education and Training Marketin China, 2012-2017.

“If 30% of them have the online education training conditions, the annual per capita consumption of online education and training is CNY600, the total market space is CNY70 billion,” the report said.