For Peter Cao, who has dedicated 16 years of his career to teaching chemistry in a high school in central China's Anhui province, in every teacher there lives a "doctor". He spends two to three hours a day grading assignments, a process the 38-year-old describes as "diagnosing". "By reviewing the homework of my pupils, I can have an overall picture about their understanding of the lessons I give," Cao said, adding that this "diagnosis" helps him draw up a teaching plan for the following day. But if the Chinese online education start-up Master Learner has its way, Cao and his 14 million fellow teachers in China will be able to hand this time-consuming review process to a "super teacher", a powerful "brain" capable of answering nearly 500 million of the most tested questions in China's middle schools as well as scoring high points in each Gaokao test, China's life-changing college entrance exam, for the past 30 years. If the super teacher sounds too smart to be human, that is because it is not.

SHANGHAI-BASED online English learning platform Liulishuo said yesterday it has raised US$100 million from institutional investors and previous investors to fuel its future growth into artificial intelligence and tailor-made programs for English learners. China Media Capital and Wu Capital, as well as previous investors including TrustBridge, IDG Capital, GGV Capital, Cherubic Ventures and Hearst Ventures, have been announced as investors in the platform. Wang Yi, co-founder and chief executive officer of Liulishuo, said the company plans to hire more talent in the artificial intelligence field and to offer more AI-driven educational services besides its current AI-powered personalized interactive courses. "We hope to maintain our leading position in the artificial intelligence-backed online education field and to further enhance efficiency in English learning," he said, adding that they also hope to build an artificial intelligence learning research institution within two or three years. It will also provide AI-backed spoken English evaluating services for NASDAQ-listed TAL Education Group to integrate with TAL's current learning systems.

Yi Wang was hearing the same refrain over and over: Why are English classes in China so expensive? The former Google product manager decided to do something about it and started an app called LiuLiShuo, which basically means "speaking fluently" in Mandarin. The app, which claims more than 30 million users, is one of scores of English-learning startups looking to disrupt China's hidebound language schools. To differentiate itself from products started by Internet giants like Baidu and Tencent, LiuLiShuo brings gaming and social media features to the genre. Users win points when they move to the next level and text each other encouragement and tips.