Coatue leads $177m round for Chinese comic book app

CMC Capital Partners and Xianghe Capital also participated as new investors. The round came after the company secured RMB250 million ($36 million) in Series C funding in January, led by Chinese domestic GP Tiantu Capital.

Beijing-based Kuaikan was founded by Chinese comic artist Anni Chen in 2014. She began posting her drawings on microblogging site Weibo in 2011, detailing her life as a university undergraduate. Her story resonated with young people, and once Chen had built up a critical mass of followers, she launched Kuaikan as a platform for other comic artists to publish original work.

The platform subsequently attracted attention from Sequoia Capital China, which invested $3 million in Series A round in April 2015. The GP then re-upped in a RMB100 million Series B round in the same year, joined by listed company Beijing Kunlun Tech.

Kuaikan now has more than 2,000 comic books on its platform supplied by 1,000 creators. It has more than 130 million registered users, including 10 million daily active readers. Following the Series D round, Kuaikan plans to invest RMB500 million over the next three years to cultivate more comic artists and produce higher quality content.

"The Chinese animation industry has larger market potential compared to developed countries. We felt that the needs of the younger generation for animation content are far from being satisfied in China," Kai Jiang, Coatue's China representative, told local media. "Kuaikan has a deep understanding of young people and their needs for animation content. We are optimistic about the long-term development of the entertainment industry in China and will continue to invest in this field."

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Greater China
• Technology
• Consumer
• Expansion
• Media
• China
• TMT
• Growth capital
• China Media Capital
• Venture