SDIC Chuangye Investment Management, a subsidiary of State Development & Investment Corp, has led a US$100 million series A round in Cambricon Technologies Co., Ltd., an artificial intelligence chip developer.
Gobi Reaches First Close Of Its Asean Growth Fund At $50M
Gobi Partners, a Chinese venture capital firm focused on information technology, telecom, media and technology (TMT) and digital media industries, has reached the first close of its new Asean-focused fund at US$50 million. Malaysia Venture Capital Management Bhd (Mavcap), Korean home shopping company GS Shop, and Indonesian investment firm CKM have also invested in the fund, according to a company announcement. “This fund is the biggest growth stage fund to come out of Malaysia at this point, and it is also one of the biggest in Asean," said Mavcap CEO and Gobi senior adviser Jamaludin Bujang. "Mavcap is more than optimistic about the benefits to be gained by being a part of this fund.” The new fund, named Meranti Asean Growth Fund, will seek investment opportunities in the fields of cloud services, e-commerce, financial technology and Muslim-focused tech firms. It will invest in over 15 start-ups in series B and C rounds, with a targeted size of US$5 million to US$20 million. The fund was launched last December with a target of US$200 million. It unveiled its first investment yesterday in Sale Stock, a leading Indonesian fashion e-commerce platform, by co-leading a US$27 million series B+ round. Founded in 2002, …
All-Stars Leads $56M Round In Chinese Truck Logistics Firm Huochebang
All-Stars Investment Ltd., an alternative investment firm focused on the Internet and consumer sectors in Greater China, has led a US$56 million series B-3 round in Huochebang, a Uber-like truck logistics start-up.
Vertex Leads New Funding Round In Chinese Online Real Estate Agency Julive
Vertex Venture Holdings Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore's Temasek Holdings, has led a series B round worth tens of millions of U.S. dollars in Julive, a Chinese online-to-offline (O2O) real estate agency.
Chinese Bike Rental Firm Youon Completes $87M Shanghai IPO
Chinese bike rental company Youon Bike, backed by Ant Financial and Shenzhen Capital Group, has completed an initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, raising RMB581 million (US$87 million). It is the first stock market listing by any of the dozens of bike sharing companies in China.
Chinese IoT Artificial Intelligence Platform Unisound Gains $45M Strategic Investment
Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) firm Unisound says it has received RMB300 million (US$45 million) from a strategic investor who besides money will provide the company with massive amount of data to help it improve its capabilities. A company representative did not disclose the identity of the investors and declined to provide more details about the deal when contacted by China Money Network.
Venture-Backed Biopharmaceutical Firm Zai Lab Plans $115M US IPO
Shanghai-based biopharmaceutical company Zai Lab, founded by Samantha Du, a former managing director at Sequoia Capital, has filed to raise up to US$115 million in an initial public offering on the NASDAQ.
Lenovo Capital Leads $7M Round In Chinese Robotic Arm Developer YangTian
Lenovo Capital and the Incubator Group have led a RMB50 million (US$7 million) pre-A round in Tianjin YangTian Technology Co., a Chinese industrial robotic arm developer supplying manufacturers in China.
Meitu Joins $14M Round In Chinese Augmented Reality Firm HiScene
Chinese investment firm, Shanghai Cableway Investment, has led a series B investment round of nearly RMB100 million (US$14 million) in HiScene, a Beijing-based start-up developing hardware and software products for augmented reality.
IDG Co-Leads $14M Round In Chinese AI-Powered Data Visualization Firm Haiyun
IDG Capital and Jingsheng Jiacheng Investment have led a RMB100 million (US$14 million) series B round in Haiyun Data, a Beijing-based start-up providing big data analysis solutions.
Mangrove Capital Leads $45M Round In Cloud Communication Firm Ucpaas
Shenzhen-based Mangrove Capital, an investment firm co-founded by Wang Duo, an ex-partner at SAIF Partners, has led a RMB300 million (US$45 million) series B round in Ucpaas, a Chinese cloud communication service provider.
SBCVC Joins $100M Round In Chinese Capsule Endoscopy System Developer Ankon
Ankon Technologies Co., Ltd., a U.S. and China-based company developing medical equipment for gastric diagnosis, has raised a US$100 million investment round from SBCVC, Dazhong Investment, Youshi Capital and Tongsheng Capital.
BAIC's Electric Vehicle Unit Raises $1.6B In Series B Round
Chinese car maker Beijing Automotive Group's (BAIC Group) electric vehicle business unit, BAIC BJEV, has raised a RMB11.1 billion (US$1.6 billion) series B round from 14 investors, including state-owned enterprises China Cinda Asset Management Co., Ltd. and Zhongji Investment, a firm co-founded by the Hebei provincial government.
Lilly Asia Ventures Closes Fourth Fund At $450 Million Hard Cap
Lilly Asia Ventures, a healthcare-focused venture capital firm backed by global pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co., has closed its fourth healthcare fund at a US$450 million hard cap.
Yunfeng Capital Leads $14M Round In Chinese Short Video Producer Er Geng
Yunfeng Capital, a private equity firm co-founded by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd chairman Jack Ma, has led a RMB100 million (US$14 million) series A round in Er Geng, a Hangzhou-based short video content producer, with participation from Source Code Capital.
H Capital Leads $150M Round In Chinese K12 Online Education Platform Zuoyebang
China-focused venture capital firm H Capital has led a US150 million series C round in Zuoyebang, a K-12 online education spin-off from Baidu Inc.
China To Challenge US Leadership In AI? Not So Fast
There have been a lot of discussions on China's rising prowess in artificial intelligence, on how the Chinese are catching up or even surpassing the U.S. in leading the world's most important future technology trend. The concerns are so real that the U.S. government is reportedly looking to strengthen scrutiny of Chinese investments in American AI companies.
SAIF Joins $90M Round In Chinese Social Media Marketing Firm IMS
Chinese social media marketing company IMS New Media Group has raised a RMB600 million (US$90 million) series C round from Sina Weibo, Morgan Stanley, China Merchants Bank, CSC Financial Co., Ltd. and SAIF Partners.
Chengdu Government Leads $140M Round In Chinese Smartphone Developer Smartisan
Chinese smartphone maker Smartisan Technology Co., Ltd., founded by Chinese Internet celebrity and English teacher Luo Yonghao, has raised a RMB1 billion (US$140 million) new funding round led by entities backed by the government of Chengdu.
Chinese News App Toutiao Raises $2B Round At $20B Valuation
Chinese personalized news recommendation app operator Toutiao is reported to have raised a new funding round of over US$2 billion, led by American private equity firm General Atlantic.
Hony, Foxconn Ventures And Temasek Invest $110M In PCCW Video And Music Streaming Unit
Hony Capital, Foxconn Ventures and Temasek Holdings have together invested a total of US$110 million in PCCW OTT, the video and music streaming subsidiary of Hong Kong-based telecommunications and media giant PCCW Ltd, acquiring a stake of around 18%.
Hong Kong PE Firm EmergeVest Exits Chinese Apparel Supplier JDU For $500M
Hong Kong-based private equity firm EmergeVest has sold its stake in Jiangsu province-based Chinese apparel supplier J.D. United Manufacturing Corporation Ltd. (JDU) to Taiwan-listed textile company Roo Hsing for US$500 million.
JD Finance Establishes Early Stage Consumer VC Fund Qianshu Capital
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com Inc.'s financial services spin-out, JD Finance, has set up its first consumer-focused early stage venture fund, Qianshu Capital, to back innovative start-ups that help meet increasing consumer demand in China.
Fortune Capital-Backed Incubator And Media Firm Iheima Completes Shenzhen IPO
Beijing-based start-up incubator Iheima, backed by Fortune Capital, has completed an initial public offering on the ChiNext, a NASDAQ-style board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, to raise a total of RMB182 million (US$27 million). As the first IPO of an incubator, accelerator and start-up media platform in China, Iheima issued 17 million new shares at the price of RMB10.75 (US$1.61) apiece, according to an IPO prospectus. The company is valued at RMB1 billion (US$140 million), based on its highest trading price of RMB15.48 (US$2.3), which represents a near 44% increase from its IPO price. Iheima was founded in 2011 by Niu Wenwen, formerly the editor-in-chief at well-known Chinese business magazine China Entrepreneur. The company offers a full suite of services to Chinese start-ups, from staff training, public relations services, to venture capital raising. The company registered revenues and net profit of RMB184 million (US$27 million) and RMB42 million (US$6 million), up 10% and 446% year-on-year, respectively. In 2015, Iheima raised a RMB134 million (US$20 million) series C round from Fortune Capital, Chinese outdoor products company Toread Holdings Group Co., Ltd. and Zhongziqi Investment. Two years prior, it received a series B round worth tens of millions of RMB from Beijing-based …
Virtual Reality Finds A New Application In China's Drug Rehab Centers
China is finding a new application for virtual reality (VR) in drug rehab centers. Four such centers have been set up in coastal Zhejiang province using VR programs to treat over 1,008 drug abusers.
Seven Seas Partners Leads $14M Round In Chinese Smart Logistics Packaging Firm
Seven Seas Partners, a venture capital firm established by former Tencent chief technology officer Xiong Minghua, has led an over RMB100 million (US$14 million) financing round in Xiangxianggongyong, a smart logistics packaging sharing platform.
Tencent Joins $29M Round In Chinese Supply Chain Finance Firm Linklogis
Shenzhen-based supply chain financial services provider Linklogis has raised a RMB200 million (US$29 million) series B round from Tencent Holdings Ltd., China Merchants Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. and Bertelsmann Asia Investments.
Chinese Bike Sharing Firm Ofo Partners With SoftBank C&S To Expand Into Japan
Chinese bike sharing company ofo and Japan's SoftBank Commerce & Services Corp. have reached a basic agreement to collaborate on the deployment of ofo's global bike sharing business in Japan.
About Face: China's Plastic Surgery Market Grows Six Times Faster Than Global Average
If you pay any attention to China's venture capital and technology world, the phrase "consumer upgrade" has likely jumped out at you a few times. To outsiders, the description may appear awkward. But in china, it is arguably the most important investment theme of the age.
Olympus Capital Joins $90M Round In Chinese Radio Advertising Firm Yuanyu
Yuanyu Radio (China) Co., Ltd., a Shanghai-based radio advertising agency, has raised a US$90 million new funding round from Olympus Capital Asia and Singapore's UOB Venture Management.
Yunqi Leads $24M Round In Chinese B2B Textile E-Commerce Platform Baibu
Chinese venture capital firm Yunqi Partners has led a RMB165 million (US$24 million) series B+ round in Baibu, a business-to-business textile e-commerce mobile app, with participation from Chengwei Capital and Source Code Capital.