Chinese smart city platform developer raises $283m
China Everbright has led the first phase of Series C round – worth RMB2 billion ($283 million) – for Terminus Technologies, a Chinese supplier of city-level internet of things (IoT) platforms.
Additional contributions came from e-commerce giant JD.com, voice recognition software developer iFlytek, and an investment arm of Wanda Group. Terminus is a popular target among strategic players with artificial intelligence specialist SenseTime joining an extended Series B round of RMB1.2 billion last year alongside IDG Capital. Everbright incubated the company and then teamed up with IDG and CITIC Private Equity for a RMB500 million Series A in 2017.
Terminus, which claimed to have achieved a valuation in excess of $1 billion prior to the most recent round, is seeking to build China’s largest smart city enablement platform. It combines artificial intelligence and IoT to upgrade traditional industries, typically working with municipal governments and real estate developers to deliver local services and utilities in a more efficient way.
Solutions range from IT-enabled energy management in hotels to city-wide solutions that cover population management, traffic flow, and public security functions. The company’s current footprint covers more than 10 million people with 420,000 connected data nodes across 673 million square meters. It has over 8,400 projects in 84 cities nationwide.
The new funding will primarily be used to expand the Terminus team and for core business development, according to a statement. The company will also establish a joint venture with JD.com’s financial services and cloud computing divisions. Tao Chen, CEO of iFlytek, added that his company was keen to collaborate with Terminus as well, noting that the company is rare in that it showcases both technological innovation and cross-border integration capabilities.
Various AI start-ups, including SenseTime, position themselves as smart city solutions providers and governments are likely to be key customers. Earlier this month, Beijing-based investment firm Venturous merged with Lioncrest Global to raise a $200 million fund focusing on smart cities in China.
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.