Rail services provider Lvtudiandian received USD 3M for strategic financing
Lvtudiandian
Founded in: 2016
Financing status: RMB 20 million (USD 3 million) for strategic financing in 2017
Rail service provider Lvtudiandian received USD 3M for strategic financing on September 7 to broaden its range of rail services.
According to official data reports from China Railway, as of May 2016, there have been more than 3,400 pairs of trains in operation in China, with 2,100 pairs being high-speed rail EMU trains, and 1,200 pairs being railway trains. Meanwhile, there are more than 2.8 billion passengers that travelled by train in 2016 in China. This is the world’s largest population migration. How can startups seek opportunities here?
Lvtudiandian is a rail services provider that lets passengers order food and provides relevant mobile services. Passengers can purchase food, souvenirs, and postcards, as well as rent powerbanks through its app, and get their goods in their seat. The company is expecting to cover more travel services on railways, such as hotel and transportation reservations, entertainment, and social interaction, among others. Additionally, it also provides the railway industry with big data-related services.
Founded in 2016 in Hangzhou, the company has reached a long-term cooperation with several major railway operational companies, which cover more than 1,100 trains. At present, it mainly makes revenue from marketing services and sponsorship fees, though it can broaden its revenue to service fees from passengers and advertisement profit from business partners.
This new financing round was led by Donggaoshiye, a railway service operation company. The capital will be used to invest in app development, team expansion, and market promotion.
Convenience shelves startup Sokbuy received undisclosed pre-Series A in millions of USD
Sokbuy
Founded in: 2017
Financing status: Pre-Series A financing in 2017 amounting to tens of million in RMB (a few millions USD)
Convenience shelf startup, Sokbuy, received undisclosed pre-Series A in millions of USD on September 8 to develop smart convenience shelves with face recognition support.
Sokbuy is a convenience shelf startup that places smart convenience shelves in offices and communities. It started in Dalian, and now looks to Shanghai’s market for several reasons: 1) employees in Shanghai have formed mature snack consumption habits; 2) foods in Shanghai’s traditional convenience stores are expensive, so it can quickly expand its business by offering lower prices; 3) population density is higher and office buildings are larger.
Founded in 2017 in Dalian, Sokbuy prefers to partner with large businesses, such as property operators, enterprise welfare companies, and human resource services providers, so that it can place its convenience shelves in more spaces. It has so far placed more than 500 convenience shelves in Dalian and Shanghai. The turnover for each of its convenience shelves is between RMB 50 and RMB 60.
Sokbuy secured this pre-Series A financing round from undisclosed investors. It plans to use the funds to invest in the research and development of convenience shelves with face recognition support, as well as for market expansion plans.
(Top photo from 699pic.com)
