Fu Cairui, the founder and CEO of Hujiang Educational Technology Co, persists in technological innovation to consolidate Hujiang's core competitiveness. [Photo/sh-italent.cn]

Fu Cairui, the founder and CEO of Hujiang Educational Technology Co, persists in technological innovation and make full use of the company's advantages to consolidate Hujiang's core competitiveness.

When Hujiang was established in 2001, it was just an information sharing BBS platform. After an overhaul of its commercial operations in 2006 and the establishment of an internet school in 2009, Hujiang had successfully become the best online education platform by 2012.

With the rise of and development of the internet education industry, Hujiang started to expand its operations into mobile education to cope with the extra challenges and threats. From 2013 to 2017, the mobile learning arm of Hujiang grew extensively.  By the end of 2017, the number of users on Hujiang's platform had reached 170 million, among which more than 140 million were mobile users.

As Fu said, the original intention of Hujiang is to make the natural function of the internet about balancing educational resources with work; and with the development of technology and the fact that users' living conditions are constantly changing, "we adapt ourselves to the changing needs and experiences of users".

Zhangjiang High Tech Park in Shanghai where Hujiang Educational Technology Co is located attracts the company for its technological advantages and cultural environment. [Photo/sh-italent.cn]

Choosing to locate the company in Zhangjiang High Tech Park in Shanghai was due to the area's technological advantages, cultural environment, and support for the online education sector, Fu explained.

In 2015, the market value of Hujiang has exceeded 1 billion dollars, making it the first unicorn company (startup firm valued at $1 billion or above) in internet education.  

Fu always insists on creating services and products based on the needs of users, but he also values talent as much as he values users. 

The advanced business operations and technical capabilities make Hujiang a leader of the internet education industry and attracts many talented personnel.

At present, the company boasts more than 2,000 employees for research and development, customer service, marketing, and management.

In Fu's opinion, internet plus education will promote related industrial development to make education simpler, fairer and happier.

Hujiang Educational Technology Co is a leading online education firm in China. [Photo/sh-italent.cn]