Youdao Dictionary had 51.2 million average monthly users in the first half of 2019, more than any other language app in China. Its owner, Youdao, started inside the internet company NetEase in 2006 and launched the dictionary a year later. Then it used that audience to sell something bigger: online courses and smart learning devices. When Youdao listed in New York in October 2019, NetEase still controlled it.

Born Inside NetEase

Youdao began operating in March 2006 as part of NetEase, the Chinese internet company. Its first products were search and reference tools. In 2007 it launched Youdao Dictionary, which became the habit that brought millions of students and workers back every day. In 2014 the company shifted its focus to what it called the intelligent learning industry. The bet was that people who looked up words would also pay to learn.

A NetEase Spin-Off on the NYSE

Youdao priced its IPO at $17 per American depositary share in October 2019 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange as DAO. Alongside the IPO, the investment firm Orbis bought shares in a private placement at the same price. NetEase and chief executive Feng Zhou held the high-vote Class B shares. Youdao still trades on the NYSE as DAO and is based in Hangzhou.

Cover: Reading, Henri Fantin-Latour. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a reader with a book (the dictionary).