SBCVC leads $33m round for China’s Malong Technologies
SBCVC has led a RMB220 million ($33 million) Series B round for Shenzhen-based Malong Technologies – its first investment in an artificial intelligence (AI) technology company in China.
Malong was founded in 2014 by Matthew Scott and Dinglong Huang, previously executives at Microsoft Research and TripAdvisor, respectively. The company focuses on the development and application of computer vision technology.
Last year, Malong launched its flagship product ProductAI.com, a product recognition cloud platform that enables retailers to visually search and tag products on their e-commerce sites. The company claims the technology has been adopted by more than 200 Chinese enterprises.
Malong previously raised RMB12 million in a pre-Series A round in 2015 from Fortune Capital and Telescope Investment. One year later, it secured RMB62 million in Series A funding from China Securities, Greenwoods Investment, Hongchou Investment, Coco Capital and Jiangmen Investment. The company plans to use the latest round to develop its technology, improve product offerings and expand client relationships in China and overseas.
“In Malong Technologies, we see a world-class team with talent, vision, and integrity,” Alan Song, a managing partner at SBCVC, said in a statement. “Malong serves as an enabler for businesses to embrace state-of-the-art artificial intelligence technology, and this has huge potential.”
SBCVC is currently investing its fifth US dollar-denominated fund, which closed at $459 million early last year.
More on Greater China
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.