Tencent-backed Futu Securities raises $146m

The new round, which values Futu at more than $1 billion, also featured Matrix Partners China and Sequoia Capital China. The company previously raised a total of $70 million across two rounds from Matrix, Sequoia, and Tencent. The latter is said to hold an approximately 20% stake.

Founded in 2012, Futu was one of the early movers in providing online brokerage services for Chinese investors to trade shares listed in Hong Kong and the US. Its services include real-time stock quotations and individual investment performance analysis. The trading app currently has more than 3.4 million users and has facilitated over RMB500 billion ($73 billion) in transactions since inception.

Following the new investment, Futu said it will deepen its cooperation with exchanges in Hong Kong and the US in order to improve real-time quotation services. The company also plans to develop artificial intelligence technology to produce customized market analysis for individual users.

Futu’s main competitor is Tiger Brokers, which recently raised a RMB300 million Series B round across two tranches. Prior to that, the company received personal backing from US investor Jim Rogers.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Financials
• Technology
• Expansion
• China
• Hong Kong (China)
• TMT
• Venture
• Sequoia Capital
• Matrix Partners
• Tencent