Chinese enterprise start-up WakeData gets $10m Series B

The company, founded in 2018, has two business lines: a platform-as-a-service (PaaS), which helps customers aggregate data from different departments and software systems, enabling centralized management; and software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions, which enable more efficient use of the captured data across areas such as digital marketing and customer services. It has more than 180 employees, of which 80% work in R&D. 

WakeData focuses on two customer verticals, real estate and pharmaceuticals retail. Kechen Li, the company's founder, noted that technology cannot be a long-term barrier to entry in enterprise services. However, deep domain expertise in certain industries can.

For example, in real estate - where WakeData works with the likes of Country Garden, R&F Group, and Yuexiu Property - valuations impact the cash flows of developers. They are impacted by various factors such as property type, location, floor area ratio, market price fluctuations, and marketing strategy. “Big data service companies must identify industry pain points such as the property value calculations,” Li said in a statement.

PaaS has become a popular area among VC investors in China. In recent months, DataCanvas, MiningLamp Technology, and 4Paradigm. The latter's $80 million extended Series C round brought its valuation to more than $2 billion. However, investors need to be careful in assessing PaaS models. Wayne Shiong, a partner at China Growth Capital (CGC), warns that many start-ups offer customized solutions instead of standardized projects for the public cloud, so margins are low. 

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Early-stage
• Technology
• China
• artificial intelligence
• Redpoint China Ventures
• Sequoia Capital
• IDG capital