Tiger Global leads $44m Series C for China's Udesk
China-based customer services outsourcing provider Udesk has raised RMB300 million ($43.6 million) in a Series C round of funding led by Tiger Global Management, with participation from existing investors Legend Capital and DCM.
The two venture capital firms have backed the company since 2015, leading a $7.84 Series A round that year and re-upping a $14.9 million Series B that closed in mid-2016.
Udesk and its peers are benefiting as rising labor costs in China prompt more companies to outsource functions, Pengfei Wang, a managing director at Tiger Global, said in a statement. He added that Udesk is already seeing an increased number of corporates becoming repeat clients.
This is not the only investment Tiger Global has made in the customer services outsourcing space. The private equity firm has supported US-based Freshdesk across multiple rounds and Wang noted the success of another US company, Zendesk, which went public in 2014.
Much like its foreign counterparts, Udesk operates an artificial intelligence-powered interactive platform that integrates voice, email, instant messaging, and social media. The company’s AI-powered robots are constantly online to answer questions from customers. Corporate clients include Starbucks, Shell, Chinese hot pot chain Haidilao, and Procter & Gamble.
Udesk will use the proceeds from the latest round to expand its client base in financial services, government, tourism and retail.
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.