A weekly newsletter summarizing recent activity in the Chinese startup ecosystem.
DEALS OF THE WEEK
China’s Tencent Reported To Lead $1B Round In Chinese EV Firm NIO
NIO (2014, Shanghai), an electric vehicle company, raised $1B in a funding round led by Tencent Holdings with participation from Baillie Gifford, American Lone Pine Capital, China’s CITIC Capital and China Asset Management.
INTERESTING FUNDRAISING ACTIVITY IN CHINA
Alibaba Fund, IFC Join $220M Round In HK Mobile Lending Firm WeLab
WeLab (2013, Hong Kong), a mobile lending start-up, raised $220M in series B+ round from Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, International Finance Corp, Credit Suisse and others.
China’s Baidu Rumored To Lead $140M Round In Electric Vehicle Start-up WM Motor
WM Motor (2015, Shanghai), an emerging Chinese automaker, raised $140M in a funding round from Baidu and Tencent Holdings.
CITIC Co-Leads $105M Round In Chinese Travel Agency Phoenix Travel
Phoenix Travel Worldwide (1997, Beijing), an overseas travel agency, raised $105M in series C round of funding led by China’s CITIC Capital, Haier Capital, Lenovo Holdings Corp and Legend Capital with participation from Juyuan Investment, Yonghua Capital and Silk Road Huachuang.
Guangzhou Automobile Leads $83M Round In Chinese Car Services Platform Ds.cn
Ds.cn (2016, Beijing), an auto services platform, raised $83M in a funding round led by Guangzhou Automobile Group with participation from Urtrust Insurance.
Chinese Artificial Intelligence-Powered Educational Firm Yixue Education Completes A $41M Angel Round
Yixue Education, a Chinese artificial intelligence-powered educational firm, raised $41M in Angel round of funding from SIG, Nokia Growth Partners, New Oriental Education and Technology Group and Greenwood Investment
Sequoia Joins $32M Round In China’s Oncology-Focused EOC Pharma
EOC Pharma (2015, Shanghai), an oncology-focused development company, raised $32M in series B round of funding led by China’s Taikang Investment with participation from H&Q Asia Pacific and Sequoia Capital China.
Shunwei Capital Joins $30M Series B Round In Chinese Auto Insurance Search Engine Cheche365.com
Cheche365.com (2014, Beijing), a car insurance distribution platform, raised $30M in series B round of funding led by China Capital Group with participation from Shunwei Capital and CBC Capital.
BAI Leads $30M Round In Chinese Air Purifier Developer 352Air
352Air (2014, Beijing), a home air purification systems, raised $30M in series A round of funding led by Bertelsmann Asia Investments with participation from Matrix Partners China, Huatai New Industry Growth Investment Fund and Atlas Capital.
WuXi AppTec Joins $28M Round In Chinese Precision Medicine Firm AnchorDX
AnchorDX (2015, Guangzhou), a precision medicine start-up, raised $28M in series B round of funding led by 6 Dimensions Capital and Sijia Jianxin with participation from Arch Venture Partners, Marathon Venture Partners, WuXi AppTec Group and KingMed Diagnostics.
Sinovation Leads $20.6M Round In Chinese Chatbot Developer Zhuiyi
Zhuiyi (2015, Shenzhen), an artificial intelligence start-up developing chatbots, raised $20.6M in series B round of funding led by Sinovation Ventures with participation from GGV Capital, Banyan Capital and Morningside Venture.
Tencent Leads $15M Series B Round In Chinese Cloud Computing Firm Alauda
Alauda (2014, Beijing), a provider of cloud computing services for enterprises, raised $15M in series B round of funding led by Tencent Holdings with participation from Banyan Capital and CBC Capital.
Tencent Invests In Chinese Fighting Robot Maker GJS Robot
GJS Robot (2015, Shenzhen), a start-up specializing in making customized fighting robots designed for robot combat competitions, raised an undisclosed amount in series A round of funding led by Tencent Holdings.
INVESTMENTS BY CHINESE INVESTORS AND COMPANIES
China’s Sunsea Co-Leads $60M Round In US IoT Firm Ayla Networks
Ayla Networks (2010, Sunnyvale), a platform for hosting connected devices, raised $60M in series D round of funding led by Run Liang Tai Fund and Sunsea Telecommunications
EQT-backed GPA Global acquires UK’s MW Luxury Packaging
GPA Global, a Hong Kong-based packaging and display solutions provider, announced that it has agreed to acquire 100 percent of the UK’s MW Luxury Packaging.