Our weekly column summarizes the tech financing highlights in China this week.
To preserve the environment as much as possible and curb pollution from cars, the Chinese and some other countries’ governments have made supporting investments in electric vehicles a strategic initiative. This has gradually made the electric-vehicle industry a hot area for investments, as seen with Tesla in the U.S.. This week BAIC’s electric-vehicle unit BJEV raised the largest single financing round in the electric-vehicle industry in China. Will this make a difference on the electric-car industry? Let’s wait and see.
BAIC’s electric-vehicle company BJEV receives USD 1.6 B for Series B
BJEV
Founder: Zheng Gang
Founded in: 2014
Financing status: RMB 11 billion (USD 1.6 billion) for Series B financing in 2017
BAIC’s electric-vehicle company BJEV, on July 22, received USD 1.6 B for their Series B financing for market expansions.
E-scooter rental startup BeeFly receives USD 14.8 M for pre-Series A
BeeFly
Founded in: 2016
Financing status: RMB 100 million (USD 14.8 million) in pre-Series A financing in 2017
E-scooter rental startup BeeFly, on July 20, received USD 14.8 M for pre-Series A financing round to help with its market expansion.
Maternal and child service platform Mamabang receives tens of millions of USD in an undisclosed Series B round
Mamabang
Founder: Zhang Liang
Founded in: 2011
Financing status: Series B in 2017 amounting to hundreds of millions of RMB (tens of millions of USD)
Maternal and child service platform Mamabang, on July 20, received undisclosed Series B in tens of millions of USD. Mamaband plans to expand its business to the education industry by using big data and artificial intelligence technologies.
Pet e-commerce platform Epet receives USD 50 M for Series B
Epet
Founder: Xiao Yu
Founded in: 2009
Financing status: RMB 338 million (USD 50 million) for Series B financing in 2017
Pet e-commerce platform Epet, on July 22, received USD 50 M for its Series B financing round for global expansions.
Bike-sharing startup X-bike receives undisclosed angel round in millions of USD
X-bike
Founder: Hu Jiarun
Founded in: 2017
Financing status: Angel round in 2017 amounting to tens of millions in RMB (few millions of USD)
Bike-sharing startup Xiaoxiao, on July 24, received its undisclosed angel round in millions of USD for partnering with new universities to place more bikes on campuses.
Fintech company iQianbang receives USD 74M for Series B
iQianbang
Founder: Wang Jitao
Founded in: 2013
Financing status: RMB 500 million (USD 74 million) for Series B financing in 2017
Fintech company iQianbang, on July 24, received USD 74 M for its Series B financing round to expand its business to more industries.
Autonomous driving technology startup Momenta receives USD 46M for Series B
Momenta
Founder: Cao Xudong
Founded in: 2016
Financing status: RMB 311 million (USD 46 million) for Series B financing in 2017
Autonomous driving technology startup Momenta, on July 25, received USD 46M for Series B financing round to invest on its artificial intelligence technologies.
Big data based security technology provider HanSight receives USD 14.8M for Series B
HanSight
Founder: Gao Hanzhao
Founded in: 2014
Financing status: RMB 100 million (USD 14.8 million) for Series B financing in 2017
Security technology provider HanSight, on July 25, receives USD 14.8M for its Series B financing round to improve its market influence.
English-learning community Liulishuo received approximately USD 100 M for Series C
Liulishuo
Founder: Wang Yi
Founded in: 2012
Financing status: Approximately RMB 675 million (USD 100 million) for Series C financing in 2017
English learning community Liulishuo, on July 26, received approximately USD 100M for their Series C financing round. Funds will be used to introduce artificial intelligence technologies to its current app offerings in order to provide a better English-learning experience.
Online language learning platform Duolingo received USD 25M for Series E
Duolingo
Founded in: 2011
Financing status: RMB 168 million (USD 25 million) for Series E financing in 2017
Online language learning platform Duolingo, on July 26, received USD 25M for their Series E financing round to offer new language courses.
(Top photo from 58pic.com)
