Liulishuo

Corporate brand

Liulishuo is a China-founded, technology-driven education brand offering AI-assisted English-learning apps, courses, and corporate language-training services.

Last updated October 12, 2026

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Overview

Liulishuo is a technology-driven education company founded in September 2012 by Wang Yi, Hu Zheren, and Lin Hui, with a core focus on English learning, offering both consumer apps and services as well as corporate training. In September 2018, the company stated that it would use "LAIX" as its group operating name; the company explained that "LAI" stands for "Learning" and "AI," while "X" represents the unknown and the possibility of unlocking potential. On the provided website, English learning products are still presented under the Liulishuo brand. The company says its learning approach combines artificial intelligence, data, and instructional content, and it has independently developed English speaking assessment, writing scoring engines, and an adaptive learning system to support improvement in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Its consumer product portfolio has included Liulishuo English, Liulishuo Reading, Liulishuo Dongni English, and Liulishuo Pronunciation. The company also provides English learning programs and technical services to enterprises, including proficiency testing, online AI courses, customized courses, learner support, and learning progress reviews. Enterprise solutions cover general workplace communication as well as industry scenarios such as finance, pharmaceuticals, and automotive. Existing materials primarily document Liulishuo's business in the Chinese market. Its website describes its technology and services as a way to make English learning more personalized and accessible, serving both individual learners and corporate training. The company states that as of June 30, 2022, it had approximately 253.7 million cumulative registered users and had cumulatively recorded about 4 billion minutes of conversation and 53.7 billion sentences of recordings. These are historical cumulative figures published by the company, not current user numbers or usage. The company announced its listing on the New York Stock Exchange on September 27, 2018, under the ticker symbol LAIX. The provided materials cannot determine its current ownership, current listing status, or whether the individuals listed on the company page still hold the same positions. The page lists Wang Yi as Chief Executive Officer, Hu Zheren as Chief Technology Officer, and Lin Hui as Chief Scientist. Liulishuo's current website continues to promote AI-assisted English learning and corporate training services.

History

Liulishuo was founded in September 2012 by Wang Yi, Hu Zheren, and Lin Hui as a technology-oriented education company focused on English learning. The company’s early product was an iOS app: its history page says the first iOS app was submitted to the App Store on February 14, 2013. It also reports that the app was selected by Apple in 2013. In June 2014, Liulishuo said it had reached ten million registered users and that its app was installed on iPhones in Apple Stores across China as a recommended app. It reported reaching 25 million users in December 2015. The company built its offering around speech technology and digital learning. In July 2016 it introduced what it called an “AI English teacher,” and in November that year it launched Liulishuo IELTS. Its stated technical capabilities later included English-speaking assessment, writing scoring, and adaptive learning. It describes its products as supporting development across listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The company has also positioned these tools for workplace instruction, offering enterprise placement tests, online courses, customized curricula, learner-management services, and training reviews. Liulishuo continued reporting user growth and fundraising during its early expansion. Its company history records a Series A investment round in June 2014 and a Series B round in June 2015, listing GGV, IDG, Cherubic Ventures, and Hearst Ventures among the named investors. It records a Series C round in June 2017 led by CMC and Shuanghu Capital, with several existing investors participating. In June 2017, the company reported 45 million registered users; in June 2018, it reported 80 million. In September 2018, Liulishuo announced a group-level brand name, LAIX, while retaining Liulishuo as the name associated with its English-learning products. On September 27, 2018, it announced that it had listed on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker LAIX. The company characterized its approach as an “Education 3.0” model and as a combination of AI and education. The supplied sources confirm the historical listing announcement but do not establish the company’s present listing status. The company’s product range expanded beyond its original app to include Liulishuo English, Liulishuo Reading, Du Ni English, and Liulishuo Pronunciation, according to its about page. It also developed business-to-business services for corporate English training. The corporate page describes offerings such as level assessments, 24-hour-accessible AI courses, tailored company or industry courses, learner communities and progress management, and post-program reviews. It lists workplace communication and sector-specific programs for finance, medicine, and automotive companies. Liulishuo’s about page reports that, by June 30, 2022, its users had generated approximately four billion minutes of recorded conversations and 53.7 billion sentences of recordings, and that cumulative registered users had reached approximately 253.7 million. These are company-reported figures for that date. The company also reports that in early 2020 it was selected as a Shanghai municipal key enterprise laboratory, with recognition for its learning and cognitive artificial-intelligence laboratory. Its present website continues to introduce the brand as an AI-enabled English-learning service. The supplied material does not clarify current corporate ownership, current exchange status, or whether the leaders identified on the company page still hold the same roles.

Liulishuo founded
First iOS app submitted
Ten million registered users and Series A investment
Series B investment
Twenty-five million users
AI English teacher introduced
Liulishuo IELTS launched
Series C investment
Forty-five million registered users
Eighty million registered users
LAIX adopted as group-level name
NYSE listing announced under LAIX
Shanghai key enterprise laboratory recognition
Company reports cumulative user and learning-record totals

Products and positioning

A technology-driven English-education brand using AI, data, and adaptive learning to provide personalized study for individuals and English-training solutions for businesses.

Liulishuo English
An English-learning app in the company’s consumer education portfolio.
Liulishuo Reading
An English-reading product listed among the company’s apps.
Du Ni English
An English-learning product listed on the company’s about page.
Liulishuo Pronunciation
An English-learning product listed on the company’s about page.
Corporate Liulishuo
Corporate English training that includes assessment, AI courses, customized programs, learner management, and outcome reviews.

Controversies

2019
Source

Adoption of LAIX for group-level operationsOther

Recent events

2020-01-27
Liulishuo announces free course donations during the outbreak[7]流利说宣布捐赠在线课程助力疫情防控hy.stock.cnfol.com
Liulishuo announced it would donate online English courses valued at more than 12 million yuan and make 100,000 Green Diamond course packages available for free during the COVID-19 outbreak.
2019-11-20
Liulishuo releases third-quarter 2019 results[8]流利说发布2019年第三季度财报hy.stock.cnfol.com
Liulishuo released unaudited results for the quarter ended September 30, 2019, reporting net revenue of RMB262.1 million, up 45.2% year over year, and a net loss of RMB214.1 million.

Sources12 sources

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