AVCJ

CITIC PE leads $55m round for China’s BroadLink

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CITIC Private Equity has led a RMB343 million ($55 million) Series D round for China’s smart home technology solutions provider BroadLink. It is said to be the largest funding round for a domestic start-up in this market segment.

Chinese search engine giant Baidu and detergent manufacturer Libai Group also took part in the investment. The company plans to use the new funding to improve its artificial intelligence and internet-of-things technology, as well as to invest in or acquire peers in the upstream and downstream parts of the industry value chain.

Founded in 2013, BroadLink not only produces smart home devices – such as air purifiers and TVs that are connected to the internet – but it has also created an open technology platform that allows third-party developers to build devices. The platform is intended to help traditional home appliance merchandisers upgrade their product offerings.

BroadLink claims to have exported more than 1.8 million self-developed smart home units to over 100 markets. In China, the company is working with 18 property developers to provide smart home technology solutions.

AVCJ Research's records show the company previously received funding from Sequoia Capital and Qualcomm Ventures in 2013. This was followed by a RMB70 million round in 2016 from China Merchants Innovation Investment Management and Sinovation Ventures.

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