NetDragon Websoft
NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited is an internet company based in Fuzhou, China. It has a track record of developing and scaling multiple influential internet and mobile platforms, including online gaming portal 17173.com, and smartphone app store platform, 91 Wireless, which was sold to Baidu for US$1.9 billion in 2013.
Native name | 网龙网络控股有限公司 |
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Traded as | SEHK: 777 |
Industry |
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Founded | May 1999[1] |
Founder | Liu Dejian |
Headquarters | , China |
Number of employees | 6460 (in 2019) |
Subsidiaries |
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Website | http://www.netdragon.com/ |
NetDragon Websoft | |||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 網龍網絡控股有限公司 | ||||||
Simplified Chinese | 网龙网络控股有限公司 | ||||||
Literal meaning | NetDragon (Fujian) Computer Network Information Technology Co Ltd | ||||||
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Established in 1999, NetDragon is an online game developer in China with IPs including Eudemons Online, Heroes Evolved and Conquer Online.
In recent years, NetDragon has also started to scale its online education business on the back of management's vision to create the largest global online learning community, and to bring the “classroom of the future” to schools around the world.
Education
NetDragon Websoft started getting involved in education[3] in 2010 with the aims to develop "the largest learning community globally."[4]
NetDragon has made several acquisitions regarding education and community, amongst which are included:
A partnership with the University of North Texas to launch the UNT-NetDragon Digital Research Centre.[5]
Edmodo was acquired by NetDragon on April 8, 2018.[6]
On July 3, 2017, NetDragon announced that it had acquired American educational software publisher JumpStart Games.[7]
NetDragon also acquired a 100 percent stake in the London-listed Promethean World back in 2015.[8]
Sale of 91 Wireless
NetDragon's sold its app store, 91 Wireless, to Baidu for $1.85 billion in what was hailed as the biggest deal ever in China's IT sector.[9] As the company controlled less than 58% of 91 Wireless, Netdragon took an estimated $1.06 billion from the sale.[10]
The mobile applications available through this store, many of which are "91" branded, are quite disparate and include more than mobile games–running the gamut from fortune telling to wealth management.[11]
CSR
The company sponsors the Fujian NetDragon Youth Business Foundation, which helps entrepreneurial youth achieve their dream of starting a small business.[12]
See also
References
- "Company Overview". Netdragon Websoft Inc. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
- "FAQ". Netdragon Websoft Inc. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
- "Technology Enhanced Learning".
- "NetDragon Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2017 Financial Results". March 22, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
- "UNT launches NetDragon Digital Research Centre". May 15, 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
- "NetDragon Signs Agreement to Acquire Edmodo to Create the Largest Global Learning Community". April 8, 2018. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
- "NetDragon Acquires JumpStart to Expand Its Online Communities". July 3, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
- "China's NetDragon completes Promethean acquisition". Retrieved March 27, 2018.
- Paul Carsten (14 August 2013). "Baidu says agrees to buy Netdragon's 91 Wireless for $1.85 billion". Reuters.
- "NetDragon Signs Merger Pact between Baidu and 91 Wireless." Manufacturing Close-Up. Close-Up Media, Inc. 2013. HighBeam Research. 24 May. 2014
- "Netdragon Websoft Inc (0777.HK): Full Description". Thompson Reuters. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
- "NetDragon Fujian Honored with 2008 'National Outstanding Award for Internet Cultural Enterprise'." Internet Weekly News. NewsRX. 2009. HighBeam Research. 24 May. 2014