Articles by Larissa Ku
China enterprise software: PaaS vs SaaS
Platform-as-a-service has become the flavor of the month in China’s software industry, but there can be a big difference between what start-ups are and what they claim to be
China car trading platform Chehaoduo raises $200m
Chehaoduo, a Chinese online auto services provider that runs used car trading platform Guazi and new car trading platform Maodou, has raised $200 million in an extended Series D round from SoftBank Vision Fund and Sequoia Capital China.
China chip maker ASR hits $1.6b valuation at Series D
ASR Microelectronics, a Shanghai-based manufacturer of chips for use in consumer electronics, has closed an extended Series D round of $119 million. The company is now valued at more than $1.6 billion.
Chinese toy figurine retailer Pop Mart raises $100m
Chinese black-box doll retailer Pop Mart has raised more than $100 million in funding from China Renaissance and Loyal Valley Capital in what is expected to be its last round before an IPO.
Chinese autonomous trucking start-up Inceptio raises $100m
Inceptio, a Chinese autonomous driving technology provider focusing on line-haul trucking has raised $100 million. The investors were not disclosed. Previous backers include logistics giant GLP, autonomous car maker Nio, and fleet manager G7.
Japan's Jafco raises $67m for debut Taiwan fund
Japanese VC firm Jafco has closed its debut Taiwan fund at approximately NT$2 billion ($67 million) with backing from the National Development Fund of Taiwan and several financial institutions.
Chinese environmental protection business raises $16m
Addor Capital has led a RMB110 million ($15.5 million) Series A round for Shandong-based Pengda Environmental Protection Technology.
Deal focus: VCs back DataCanvas' opensource solution
Chinese start-up DataCanvas wants to democratize artificial intelligence through a plug-and-play platform that lets companies customize algorithms. Financial institutions are the early adopters
Chinese oatmeal brand Wangbaobao gets $14m Series B
Chinese oatmeal brand Wangbaobao has raised approximately RMB100 million ($14 million) in a Series B round led by consumer-focused BA Capital. Existing investors Source Code Capital, Vertex Ventures and Decent Capital re-upped.
Qiming leads round for Chinese display chip provider
Yunyinggu, a Chinese manufacturer of integrated circuits used in flat screen displays, has raised RMB200 million ($28 million) in Series C funding across two tranches.
Deal focus: Huilianyi's digitization drive
China Renaissance backed Huilianyi's $42 million extended Series C round with a view to capitalizing on widespread corporate adoption of electronic invoicing
Kuaishou backs Chinese online education platform Huohua Siwei
Huohua Siwei, a Chinese online education platform specializing in mathematics and science, has raised $30 million in an extended Series D round from local video-sharing giant Kuaishou.
Chinese big data player DataCanvas raises $17m
Beijing ZetYun Tech, also known as DataCanvas, has raised RMB120 million ($17 million) in Series C funding across two tranches. Participants include Zhongguancun Frontier Fund, GF Qianhe, Delta Capital, and Shidake Investment.
Gaocheng partner joins SoftBank Vision Fund
Daisy Cai, previously a partner at China-based growth capital investor Gaocheng Capital, has joined SoftBank Vision Fund.
Coronavirus & China VC: Bifurcation point
China might be emerging from the grip of COVID-19, but many start-ups face a long battle. This is when VCs find out who the winners are
China's Pinduoduo invests $200m in electronics retailer Gome
Chinese social e-commerce platform Pinduoduo – which has several VC backers - has invested $200 million in Gome Retail, one of the country's leading household appliance and electronics retailers.
China cancer diagnosis player ChosenMed gets Series B
ChosenMed, a Beijing-based tumor detection company has raised a Series B round of more than RMB100 million ($14 million) led by state-owned Shanghai Lianhe Investment.
Chinese drug developer Mabworks raises $159m Series C
Beijing Mabworks Biotech has raised a RMB1.13 billion ($159 million) Series C round led by CICC Capital, Lyzz Capital, CITIC Securities Investment, and Huge Capital.
Chinese voice recognition player AISpeech raises $58m
Chinese voice recognition player AISpeech has raised RMB410 million ($58 million) in a Series E round led by CTC Capital.
China Everbright backs smart illumination start-up
China Everbright has joined a RMB200 million ($28 million) Series C round for Yeelight, a Chinese start-up that makes smart lighting products.
Matrix, CICC back Chinese optical chip pioneer
Lightelligence, a US and China-based manufacturer of optical chips, has raised a $26 million Series A round led by Matrix Partners China and China International Capital Corporation (CICC).
Chinese cosmetics player Meishang raises $28m
Meishang, a Chinese cosmetics company with a presence in South Korea and Taiwan as well as in its home market, has raised RMB200 million ($28 million) in funding led by furniture giant from Red Star Macalline.
Deal focus: Yuanfudao stakes its claim
Eight years old and yet to turn a profit, Chinese K-12 online education platform Yuanfudao is now valued at $7.8 billion. Investors say they are comfortable playing the long game
CDH raises $1.1b for China's largest mezzanine fund
CDH Investments has closed its fifth China mezzanine fund at RMB8 billion ($1.1 billion). It is the largest vehicle of its kind ever raised solely for deployment in the country.