- Proceeds to expand product offerings, US expansion
- Chanel, HSBC, Alibaba Cloud among clients
- Targeting 2025 IPO in US
Preface is looking to raise around USD 20m from a B round to expand products, riding on growing popularity of the newest AI technologies including ChatGPT, Tommie Lo, company founder and chief executive, told this news service.
The Series B will be launched in the third quarter at the earliest, and hopefully be closed within six months, said Lo, whose clients include Chanel, HSBC, and Alibaba Cloud, among others.
Part of the proceeds will be set aside for development of education programs on areas such as Microsoft 365 Copilot, an AI-powered chatbot integrated into Microsoft 365 apps, he said.
Neo-technology courses are extremely popular, he said adding that around 10% of its students took ChatGPT courses – launched in December 2022 - in the first quarter this year, making them among the fastest growing segments.
The rest of the proceeds will be used to expand into the US, said the founder.
Hong Kong-based Preface, which is already present in Singapore, Tokyo and London, aims to open a New York office in 2024 to go after such prospects as multinational companies, he added.
The company hopes to bring in investors who can help deepen its foothold in these cities, and preferably can help the company with an eventual listing.
It welcomes financial advisors who could refer suitable investors, said Lo.
The founding team, including Lo, holds 65% of the company, he said.
The company raised USD 7m via an A round in 2021, he said, adding that Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund and Gobi Ventures are among its existing shareholders.
Meanwhile, Preface is set to close soon a USD 3m Series A2 at a pre-money valuation of USD 48m, he said.
US IPO by 2025
Preface welcomes approaches from financial and legal advisors for a targeted listing in the US by late 2025, when its revenue is expected to hit USD 300m, he said. The company doesn’t rule out a Hong Kong listing.
It expects to clock in a revenue of USD 30m in 2023, versus 2022’s USD 16m, he said.
Overseas operations and increasing demand for new-technology courses have been driving its revenue growth, said Lo.
Preface, which officially opened the door for business in 2018, provides coding, AI and blockchain related courses, catering to both corporates and individuals, said Lo. It applies flexible delivery method from one-on-one to group courses, either online, offline or hybrid, he said.
Preface is profitable in terms of earnings before interest, tax and amortization, he said, without elaboration.
The firm also owns two cafes in Hong Kong under the “Preface” brand, which also double as program venues and serves to help promote marketing, he said.
When asked, he named Colorado, US-based Guild Education as a peer.
