Voicechanger Workshop Completes Angel Round Financing to Build Integrated Online-Offline Pediatric Speech Therapy Services
Recently, Eryu Gongfang (also known as Qingyin), a leading domestic language rehabilitation institution for children and adolescents, announced the completion of an angel round financing amounting to several million yuan. The round was led by Shanghai Venture Philanthropy Partners (SVP), with follow-on investments from Wei Wenfeng, founder of Laoba Testing, and the SEED Social Innovation Seed Community. The funds will be primarily used for offline store expansion, improvement of store management systems, and talent acquisition.
Founded in 2019, Er Yu Workshop specializes in addressing issues related to articulation accuracy, speech delay, fluency, and vocal quality. The company currently operates two directly-owned stores in Shanghai, providing one-on-one speech-language rehabilitation training for individuals aged 2 to 16 who face challenges with speaking and pronunciation, through both offline clinics and online services.
By cultivating a young faculty that is professional, compassionate, and highly approachable, and by establishing training classrooms with child-friendly environments and interactive models, we have delivered an exceptional user experience and strong reputation through a teaching system that is truly “warm, high-quality, concise, and scientifically grounded.”
Through offline services and courses, Eryu Workshop empowers children with speech and language challenges to develop the ability to communicate effectively and speak clearly. Meanwhile, by providing warm and positive experiences, it helps them become more confident, courageous, and outgoing.
Since its inception as a social enterprise in 2016, Children’s Speech Workshop has trained over 1,100 speech-language therapists, provided nearly 36,000 service sessions to more than 2,000 children with speech and language disorders, achieved rehabilitation rates and service satisfaction levels exceeding 95%, and accumulated extensive expertise in articulation correction.
Through five years of accumulated experience and professional exchange, the Children’s Speech Workshop has integrated cutting-edge theories from the field of speech rehabilitation both domestically and internationally. Taking into account the linguistic characteristics of Chinese and the developmental norms of Chinese children, it has iteratively developed a “standardized, flexible, and professional” CDS Speech and Language Development Curriculum System. This system encompasses functional articulation and phonological training, post-cleft palate surgery articulation and phonological training, language enhancement training, voice therapy, auditory-verbal-language ability improvement, and speech fluency enhancement, combining theoretical rigor with practical flexibility.
Furthermore, Er Yu Gong Fang trains speech-language pathologists to supply qualified instructors to the speech rehabilitation industry, provides professional and effective articulation therapy for children with speech and pronunciation difficulties, enhances speech and language development in the target population, and strives to continuously promote the healthy development of the speech rehabilitation sector.
“We are confident in our results and do not need to retain parents through long-term, high-ticket packages. Our principle is to ensure that parents do not waste money, and we do not intentionally prolong the course duration. Some children with mild conditions can graduate after just 12 sessions (one month),” said Du Xintong, founder of Eryu Workshop.
While the hourly rates for classes at Eryu Workshop are positioned in the upper-middle range of the industry, the total cost incurred by parents is actually lower than that of competitors. This is attributed to the high efficiency derived from its solid professional foundation, well-structured curriculum, and excellent teaching staff. Eryu Workshop believes that a reputable institution should genuinely prioritize the interests of children and parents, avoiding unnecessary expenditures of time and money. Building a strong reputation through word-of-mouth is the key to long-term sustainability, reflecting one aspect of Eryu Workshop’s understanding of long-term value.
One-on-one online rehabilitation is a crucial delivery model for users in remote locations. Since its public welfare initiatives began in 2016, Qingyin (the charitable brand of Eryu Workshop) has been exploring the provision of remote services through online classrooms.
Prior to the sessions, speech-language pathologists thoroughly assess each child’s condition. Based on evaluation results, personality traits, and preferences, they customize one-on-one lessons for each child. Additionally, they precisely determine the most suitable online delivery format according to objective circumstances: direct one-on-one instruction is provided for children with mild impairments and good cooperation skills, while online parent-child joint sessions are offered for those with moderate impairments and weaker foundational cooperation abilities.
In the future, Eryu Workshop will explore more comprehensive online training models to provide customers with more convenient and high-quality services.
Mr. Lou Ting, Partner at Shanghai Venture Philanthropy (SVP) and Founder of Yingzi Medical, stated, “We are delighted to join other investors in completing the angel round investment in Eryu Workshop, supporting its expansion of commercial practices aimed at generating social value. This will enable the provision of systematic rehabilitation training for more children with speech disorders, instilling in them confidence for the future and bringing greater joy to their families.”
Shanghai Social Innovation Partners is a key initiative incubated by the Beijing Lepu Public Welfare Foundation, focusing on the development of social enterprises in China. Each partner is committed to providing financial support and mentorship to early-stage social enterprises and public welfare organizations. In recent years, it has significantly supported the growth of institutions such as Hangzhou Daddy Lab and Shanghai Hand-in-Hand Life Care Development Center, and has been selected as a featured case study on social innovation by CEIBS (China Europe International Business School).
Wei Laoba, founder of Daddy Lab, stated, “There is a philosophy in investment: it’s less about backing projects and more about backing people. When backing people, we look at the founders—examining their entrepreneurial motivations, level of passion, and whether they possess sufficient inner conviction and strength. This insight stems from my own entrepreneurial journey, and I apply it to my investment decisions. Du Xintong may appear slight and petite, but as she spoke about her project, ‘Children’s Speech Workshop,’ I could feel a fire burning within her, radiating immense power. That alone deeply moved me. I am willing, as someone who has walked this path before, to help her get started and accompany her for part of the journey, bringing joy and laughter to more children with speech disorders. This mirrors the support my fans gave me when I founded Daddy Lab in 2015, enabling me to grow the brand into what it is today.”
Sun Hanhui, a director of the SEED Social Innovation Seed Community, stated, “The ‘Er Yu Gong Fang (Qing Yin)’ project was incubated from a university student-led public welfare initiative. It embodies both a deep care for children and highly professional speech therapy capabilities. Its founding team combines the vitality and humility of youth with strong learning abilities, rapid error-correction skills, and effective execution. Given the vast market size for speech therapy in China, we believe that the young team behind Er Yu Gong Fang is well-positioned to make significant strides in this broad field.”
Over the past decade, SEED has identified, nurtured, and supported 318 young social innovators and entrepreneurs, with flagship initiatives including the Social Innovation Seed Cultivation Program and the Social Entrepreneurship Accelerator.
Qin Zhiyong, Managing Partner of Boli Venture Capital, stated, “Children with speech disorders constitute a neglected group in China. Parental awareness of the importance of timely intervention is weak, and the severe scarcity of speech rehabilitation services has led to market chaos, where inferior providers drive out high-quality ones. We were fortunate to encounter Xin Tong during the ‘Seed Plan’ initiative. As a university student, she volunteered in speech rehabilitation and was planning to launch a startup in this field. During our subsequent communications, we were deeply moved by her sense of mission and decided to support her project at the seed stage. Over the past two years, the brand identity of Eryu Workshop has become increasingly clear. Following this round of financing, we hope that Eryu Workshop will continue to build its brand and expand its influence in this sector, thereby helping more children and families!”
Wu Limin, Managing Director at Hejing Capital, stated: “China has tens of millions of individuals with speech and language disorders. Er Yu Gong Fang leverages innovative technologies and business models to provide high-quality solutions, improving users’ physical and psychological well-being and helping them lead broader, more fulfilling lives. This initiative is not only a socially meritorious endeavor but also taps into a vast blue-ocean market with significant growth potential. In this new era, as societal demands for equity rise, purpose-driven businesses are poised to achieve strong financial returns. Hejing Capital is committed to collaborating with like-minded partners to explore the path of impact investing.”