China’s Qudian Inc., a provider of online consumer credit products backed by Ant Financial, has completed a listing on the New York Stock Exchange, raising approximately US$900 million.
China Creation Ventures Reaches First Closing Of USD Fund At $100M
Chinese venture capital firm China Creation Ventures, founded six months ago by Zhou Wei, formerly a managing partner at venture firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers China, has reached first closing of its U.S. dollar dominated fund at nearly US$100 million.
China’s Hony Acquires 30% Of Italian Fashion Brand Mr&Mrs Italy
Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital has agreed to acquire 30% of Duemmei, the owner of Italian fashion brand Mr&Mrs Italy, to support the brand’s expansion in Asia.
China’s Alibaba Joins $502M Round In US Augmented Reality Start-Up Magic Leap
Singapore’s Temasek Holdings has led a US$502 million series D round in Magic Leap Inc., a U.S.-based augmented reality start-up.
China’s JD Finance Hires Former Amazon Scientist Bo Liefeng To Lead Artificial Intelligence Lab
JD Finance, the financial services unit of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com Inc., has hired Bo Liefeng (pictured), former principal research scientist at Amazon.com Inc., as chief scientist of its artificial intelligence lab.
Chinese P2P Lending Platform PPdai.com Plans $350M IPO In US
Chinese peer-to-peer lending platform PPdai.com will seek an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, the company said in a filing, marking the latest Chinese financial technology company to go public. PPdai.com is currently values as a unicorn on China Money Network’s China Unicorn List with a US$2 billion valuation.
China’s Tencent Leads $1.1B Round In Indian Ride Sharing Firm Ola
Chinese Internet firm Tencent Holdings Ltd. has led a US$1.1 billion new funding round in Ola, an Indian ride sharing company that boasts 800,000 drivers in 110 cities in the world’s second most populous country.
China Takes Half Of World’s Top 10 Venture Capital Deals In Q3 With Artificial Intelligence A Leading Sector
Mainland China recorded robust venture capital activity in the third quarter, with the country taking half of the world’s ten largest venture capital deals during the period. Artificial intelligence (AI) was a leading sector for deal making, according to KPMG’s quarterly global report on venture capital trends.
SoftBank Leads $93M Round In U.S. Machine Learning Start-Up Petuum, China’s Advantech Capital Joins Round
SoftBank Group Corp has led a US$93 million series B round in Petuum Inc., a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based machine learning infrastructure platform founded by a team of Chinese entrepreneurs, with participation from Chinese investment firm Advantech Capital.
China’s Shunwei Capital Leads $100M Round In HK Logistics Firm Lalamove At Near Unicorn Valuation
Chinese investment firm Shunwei Capital has led a US$100 million round in Lalamove, a Hong Kong-based same-day inner-city delivery and logistics provider in Southeast Asia and China.
Source Code Hires Ex-Matrix Managing Director Huang Yungang As Partner
Chinese venture capital firm Source Code Capital has hired Huang Yungang (pictured), a former managing director at Matrix Partners China, as a partner.
Temasek Co-Leads $72.8M Round In Chinese Fintech Firm Tongdun Technology
Singapore’s state investment firm Temasek Holdings, Chinese investment firm Tiantu Capital and Xindahanshi Capital have led a US$72.8 million new funding round in Tongdun Technology, a Chinese fintech start-up specializing in risk control.
China’s Airbnb Platform Tujia.Com Raises $300M Series E Round At $1.5B Valuation
Chinese short-term vacation home rental platform Tujia.com has completed a US$300 million series E round at a valuation of over US$1.5 billion. Existing investors All-Stars Investment and Ctrip led the round, with China Renaissance’s New Economy Fund, Glade Brook Capital, and G Street Capital also participating, the firm announced today.
China Issues New Rules To Spur Innovative In New Drug And Medical Devices, Accepts Overseas Clinical Data
The Chinese government announced a new policy directive to further encourage innovation in new drug development and medical device yesterday, making significant changes to existing policies to spur an already thriving healthcare sector in the country.
Baidu Opens Second Silicon Valley R&D Lab To Focus On Autonomous Driving, Internet Security
Chinese search engine giant Baidu Inc. has opened its second research and development facility in Silicon Valley, to focus on autonomous driving and Internet security related work.
Happigo Buys Chinese Online Video Platform Mango TV For $1.4B
Happigo Home Shopping Co., Ltd., a TV shopping platform listed on ChiNext, a NASDAQ-style board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, will acquire 100% ownership of Mango TV, an online video platform of Hunan Satellite TV, for RMB9.5 billion (US$1.4 billion), according to a stock exchange filing by Happigo.
China’s JD.com Forms Autonomous Van Partnership With SAIC, Dongfeng Motor
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com Inc. has formed partnerships with automotive manufacturers SAIC Maxus Automotive Co., Ltd., and Dongfeng Motor Corp. to conduct research into the use of autonomous vans in its logistics business.
KKR Leads $200M Round In Chinese Personal Finance Platform Suishou
KKR has led a US$200 million series C round in Shenzhen Suishou Technology Co., a Chinese personal finance management platform, as part of the start-up’s series C round.
Hong Kong X-Tech Co-Leads $9.5M Round In Programmable Products Developer Efinix
Hong Kong X Technology Fund, backed by Sequoia Capital China-led Hong Kong X-Tech Start-up Platform, has co-led a US$9.5 million funding round in Efinix, a U.S.-based start-up developing programmable product platforms and technology.
China’s JD.Com Partners With Nvidia To Deploy One Million Logistics Drones In Five Years
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com Inc. is partnering with U.S. technology firm Nvidia Corp. to deploy one million logistics drones in China over the next five years.
Chinese Rollable Display Firm Royole Raises $800M In Series D Round
Chinese rollable display company Royole Corp has raised US$800 million in a series D financing round to support research and development and ramp up production and sales.
Alibaba To Inject $807M In Its Logistics Affiliate Cainiao Network To Enhance Delivery Services
Chinese Internet giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has agreed to make an additional investment of RMB5.3 billion (US$807 million) to increase its ownership of Cainiao Network and to become a controlling shareholder of its logistics services affiliate.
Chinese Cashier-Free Stores Are Burning Cash, But Can They Make Money?
Venture capitalists are throwing money at China’s cashier-free convenience stores. But will they actually make money, or learn once again that retail, even tech-driven retail, is a brutal business of low margins, low barriers to entry and high fixed costs?
China Media Capital Co-Leads $83M Round In Chinese K-12 Education Platform Gaosi
Chinese investment firms China Media Capital and AlphaX Partners have led a RMB550 million (US$83 million) new funding round in Gaosi Education, an online-offline K-12 education company listed on China’s New Third Board.
Legend Co-Leads $38M Round In Chinese Medical CRO Firm Bellen
Legend Capital and Zhongjinqichen, a healthcare, technology and consumer-focused private equity fund under China International Capital Co., Ltd have lead a RMB250 million (US$38 million) series B round in Bellen, a Chinese medical contract research organization (CRO).
Chinese Biopharma Firm Zai Lab Completes $150M US Listing, Shares Jump 55%
Chinese biopharmaceutical company Zai Lab Ltd., backed by Chinese venture capital firms including Advantech, OrbiMed Asia Partners and Qiming Venture Partners, has completed an initial public offering on the NASDAQ in New York, raising approximately US$150 million in total.
Qiming Leads $18M Round In Chinese Medical Imaging Firm Infervision
Qiming Venture Partners has led a RMB120 million (US$18 million) series B round in Infervision, a Chinese artificial intelligence start-up developing medical imaging technology.
Tiger Global Co-Leads $230M Series C+ In Chinese Fresh Produce E-commerce Platform MissFresh
U.S. investment firm Tiger Global Management LLC and China’s Genesis Capital have led a US$230 million series C+ round in MissFresh, a Chinese fresh produce e-commerce platform in China backed by Tencent Holdings and other investors.
Temasek Joins $300M Round In Taiwanese Electric Scooter Maker Gogoro
Taiwanese electric scooter maker Gogoro has raised a US$300 million series C round from Singapore’s state investment firm Temasek Holdings, London-based Generation Investment Management, Japan’s Sumitomo Corp and French electric utility company Engie.
Fosun RZ Leads $23M Round In Chinese Mobile Security Firm Zhizhangyi
Chinese venture capital firm Fosun RZ Capital has led a RMB150 million (US$23 million) series A+ round in Zhizhangyi, a start-up developing Internet security products for smartphones.
Alibaba-Backed Logistics Firm Best Inc Cuts New York IPO Size By Half
Chinese logistics services provider Best Inc., backed by Chinese Internet giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., has cut its New York Stock Exchange IPO by half due to tepid investor demand.