Profit of 3 Yuan, Fine of 300,000! BabyBus Penalized for "Three Women Serving One Man," Any Other Absurd Operations?

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Text | “BUG” Column Yan Yan

A company focused on “enlightenment education” was suddenly thrust into the spotlight due to a vulgar advertisement titled “Three Women Serving One Man.”

Recently, BabyBus (Fujian) Network Technology Co., Ltd. was fined 300,000 yuan by the Cangshan District Market Supervision Administration in Fuzhou City for publishing vulgar ads, with illegal gains of 3.68 yuan confiscated.

The incident can be traced back to October last year, when many netizens reported that after entering the BabyBus app, vulgar ads would pop up, displaying content such as “Three women serving one man, monthly living expenses of 500,000 yuan,” which is inappropriate for children, sparking strong protests from parents.

In response to the intense public opinion, BabyBus quickly issued an apology statement, expressing deep regret for the negative impact caused by the ad, and immediately took down the related ads on all platforms, ceased cooperation, and launched a comprehensive self-inspection and rectification.

Public information shows that BabyBus (Fujian) Network Technology Co., Ltd. was established in February 2013, with Tang Guangyu as legal representative. Shareholder information indicates that the company is wholly owned by BabyBus Co., Ltd. Notably, BabyBus had previously received a multi-million investment from Lei Jun’s Shunwei Fund and later received funding from TAL Education Group and other capital sources, making it one of the star companies in online education.

Regarding this penalty, BabyBus’s official customer service responded to the “BUG” column: “We sincerely apologize for this. The issue actually occurred in October last year. We removed all related ads from all platforms as soon as we discovered the problem.”

According to the “BUG” column, BabyBus’s content safety issues are not an isolated case. In 2025, the company also issued an apology after its home safety picture book “Ah! Be Careful of Electric Shock” contained voice content with safety risks. Additionally, some parents have reported on social media that BabyBus products have issues such as “inaccurate pronunciation” and “bad guidance” in content.

**　A enlightenment education company repeatedly embroiled in content safety controversies?**

Recently, a fine has once again drawn public attention.

Recently, BabyBus (Fujian) Network Technology Co., Ltd. was fined 300,000 yuan by the Cangshan District Market Supervision Administration in Fuzhou City for publishing vulgar ads, with illegal gains of 3.68 yuan confiscated.

Regulatory authorities pointed out that on January 1, 2021, BabyBus Co., Ltd. signed the “App Operation Authorization and Settlement Agreement” and the “Audio-Video Content Authorization and Operation Agreement” with BabyBus (Fujian) Network Technology Co., Ltd., granting the rights to operate the “BabyBus Nursery Rhymes” series of apps and related audio-video works in major app stores domestically and internationally.

After investigation, it was found that staff at BabyBus (Fujian) Network Technology Co., Ltd. failed to promptly review the text and image ads titled “Three women serving one man, monthly living expenses of 500,000 yuan, two days off per week, one day rotation,” pushed by a Shenzhen company during operation, resulting in the illegal ad being displayed on the “BabyBus Nursery Rhymes” app. The content violated social morals and had a negative impact on the app’s audience. BabyBus Co., Ltd. received a revenue share of 3.68 yuan from the Shenzhen company’s ad, which was fully transferred to BabyBus (Fujian) Network Technology Co., Ltd. Therefore, BabyBus Co., Ltd. did not gain illegal income, and the illegal income of 3.68 yuan was obtained by BabyBus (Fujian) Network Technology Co., Ltd.

Regarding this penalty, BabyBus’s official customer service responded to the “BUG” column: “We sincerely apologize for this. The issue actually occurred in October last year. We removed all related ads from all platforms as soon as we discovered the problem.”

However, this is not the first time BabyBus has been involved in content safety storms.

Previously, media reports indicated that a netizen posted a video pointing out that the lyrics of the home safety picture book “Ah! Be Careful of Electric Shock” contained safety hazards that could lead children to contact danger. The video showed lyrics such as: “Electricity, electricity, where are you? I am here, I am here, I am in the socket, little hands can see me…”

Such suggestive lines instantly ignited parents’ anger. On social media, concerns and doubts continued to grow: Why does a company claiming to focus on children’s enlightenment education repeatedly cross content safety red lines?

In response to this controversy, BabyBus issued a statement saying: “We noticed that users online reported that the voice content of our safety education picture book ‘Ah! Be Careful of Electric Shock’ posed safety risks. For safety reasons, we immediately took down this picture book and organized experts to evaluate its safety risks.”

Additionally, some parents on social media have reported that JOJO reading picture books have inaccurate pronunciation, such as confusing “while” and “little.” More worrying is the content itself, which conveys “bad guidance.” One parent shared a screenshot of the content, complaining: “I’ve seen reports that BabyBus promotes inappropriate guidance, and now I really see it—kids learn bad habits first.” The repeated dialogues on the page include: “I don’t want to brush my teeth, I want to play games!” “I don’t want to take a bath, I want to play games!”

**　Failed IPO attempt, star capital like Shunwei and TAL Education exit**

Tianyancha data shows that BabyBus (Fujian) Network Technology Co., Ltd. was established in February 2013, with Tang Guangyu as legal representative. Shareholder information indicates it is wholly owned by BabyBus Co., Ltd.

The company’s official website describes BabyBus as an original brand dedicated to creating children’s enlightenment digital products, serving over 800 million families worldwide. BabyBus has released over 200 apps, more than 4,500 nursery rhyme animations, and over 16,000 Chinese classical stories, available in 12 languages across more than 160 countries and regions, holding a market advantage in multiple countries.

“BUG” learned that behind BabyBus stood a star-studded investment team. In 2013, Tang Guangyu received a multi-million investment from Lei Jun’s Shunwei Fund. In 2014, he secured strategic investment from TAL Education Group. In November 2015, BabyBus successfully obtained a B-round investment of 39.6 million yuan from Gencap.

But by 2018, major investors like Shunwei Capital and TAL Education had exited.

In 2018, Shunwei Capital gradually transferred its 21.42% stake to third-party Mingsheng Investment and others, totaling about $22.18 million, fully exiting BabyBus’s shareholder ranks.

Similarly, TAL Education also exited shortly after. In April 2019, TAL’s Xinxin Xiangrong transferred its 3% stake in BabyBus for 30 million yuan to Mingsheng Investment.

Currently, Mingsheng Investment is the largest external shareholder with about 18.50% stake. The largest shareholder is Zhongyong Investment with 41.87%, and according to the prospectus, Tang Guangyu owns 99.99% of Zhongyong Investment, making him the actual controlling shareholder.

However, early investor TAL Education’s co-founder Cao Yundong has not exited. Currently, Cao’s Gencap, through three partnership firms—Ruigu Jiyin, Tianjian Jiyin, and Bit Interconnect—holds about 15.54%, making it the second-largest external shareholder.

In 2021, BabyBus began preparing for an IPO, signing a listing guidance agreement with CITIC Construction Investment Securities, officially launching the listing process.

According to the prospectus, in 2018, 2019, and 2020, BabyBus’s revenue was 254 million, 526 million, and 649 million yuan respectively, with growth rates of 107.09% and 23.38% in 2019 and 2020. During this period, net profits were 111 million, 267 million, and 261 million yuan, with a 140.54% increase in 2019 and a 2.25% decrease in 2020.

BabyBus’s main revenue sources are twofold: one, providing children’s educational audio-video content and apps for free, earning revenue through advertising alliances; two, licensing free educational audio content to third-party online media for ad revenue sharing. These two sources account for over 90% of total revenue.

This revenue model differs significantly from many educational companies, as BabyBus relies almost entirely on platform advertising revenue rather than selling content or products. Industry analysts warn that heavy dependence on advertising, a single revenue stream, and platform reliance pose future risks.

On June 29, 2022, exactly one year after submitting its IPO application in 2021, BabyBus’s IPO was officially terminated. The company and its sponsors applied to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange to withdraw the listing application, marking the end of its IPO pursuit.

In recent years, BabyBus’s early education products, including the JOJO smart reading pen and card-based early education devices, once topped sales charts for educational toys. Tmall’s flagship store shows that the smart reading pen (including the JOJO series) has sold over 100,000 units nationwide.

However, on the “Black Cat Complaint” platform, there are over 500 complaints related to BabyBus, mostly about product quality issues such as “cannot charge in less than half a year” and “battery problems.” Other complaints include “random charges” and “inducing minors to spend.”

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Editor: Song Yafang