Our weekly column summarizes the tech financing highlights in China this week.
The sharing economy continues to expand its influence in China. Though ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing has conquered the major market in China, new players in the industry are still trying to gain a foothold. Cao Cao Car, for example, is startup that primarily operates ride-hailing services in China with its electric vehicles, which are inline with the government’s energy conservation and emissions reduction aims. Unlike Didi, Cao Cao Car recruits drivers itself and owns all of its electric vehicle fleets. This week, Cao Cao Car secured the largest investment with USD 155 million in a Series-A financing round. The company plans to use the funds to further invest in marketing for a wider range of service areas.
1. On January 15th, second-hand luxury e-commerce site, Ponhu Luxury, secured USD 15 million in a Series-A financing round led by Triniti Capital. Ponhu Luxury matches buyers and sellers via its online platform, as well as offers appraisal, cleaning, and financial support. The capital raised in this round will be used to facilitate used luxury transactions on its platform.
2. Blockchain-based real estate trading platform, IHT, secured USD 30 million in a financing round led by Draper Dragon on January 15th. The platform will use the newly raised funds to improve its risk control system for real estate investment.
3. ID authentication security startup, Trustfort, received USD 19 million for Series B+. The funding was led by YF Capital, with participation from Dreamfly Capital, SIG and Redpoint Ventures. The startup will use the capital to improve security authentication capabilities for massive businesses.
4.On January 16th, AI-solutions provider Aibee received USD 26 million in an angel financing round led by Kinzon Capital. The startup plans to use the funds toward expanding its research and development team and launching technology centers in both Beijing and Silicon Valley.
5. On January 17th, unmanned convenience store BingoBox received USD 80 million for Series B led by FOSUN. The funds raised will be used to launch more unmanned convenience stores in popular areas.
6. On January 17th, intelligent parking services provider MallParking received USD 12 million for Series B from Holdfound Group. Following this funding, MallParking will conduct in-depth cooperation with Holdfound Group in the field of intelligent parking, intelligent car park construction, operation management, and asset securitization operation.
7. On January 18th, AI-based robot vision startup Aqrose Technology received USD 8 million led by DCM and Baidu. The startup will further expand its business for a larger market share.
8. On January 18th, an AI-based robotic startup Rokid, which provides customers with AI and human–computer interaction related products, secured USD 100 million for Series C led by Temasek, targeting at expanding its team, and a larger market share.
(Top photo from 699pic.com)
