China's Newlink raises $128m Series D
Newlink Group, operator of a platform that helps drivers in China locate the best value gas stations, has raised a RMB900 million ($128 million) Series D round led by CICC Capital. Xiaomi Corporation also participated.
Existing investors Joy Capital, Nio Capital - a fund manager controlled by local electric vehicle manufacturer Nio - and Korea Investment Partners (KIP) China re-upped. Newlink claims to have raised the most private funding in China’s digital energy management field.
Launched in 2016, the company's business has maintained a seven-fold annual growth rate in the past two years, with a compound monthly growth rate of more than 20%. As of the end of 2019, annualized gross merchandise value (GMV) had reached RMB50 billion. This figure is expected to double in 2020.
Newlink has three core products: Chezhubang, which identifies nearby gas stations and electric vehicle charging locations with the most competitive prices; Tuanyou, which specializes in fossil fuels and is linked to more than 20,000 gas stations; and Kuaidian, which focuses on electric vehicle charging and is linked to 400,000 charging piles. In addition, the company has a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that serves more than 10,000 gas stations.
Zhen Dai, the company’s CEO and founder, told AVCJ in a previous interview that Newlink has become one of the largest data providers in the energy infrastructure industry. It has developed a heat map showing the most active driver areas to help network operators plan new construction according to the demand.
“We only recommend the charging stations that can offer the best user-experiences to our users. The correct location is very important for the operators," he said. Dai sees charging stations as equivalent to hotels and Newlink wants to be the equivalent of Ctrip, taking a cut of traffic flow that goes to all parties.
Joy Capital led a $110 million Series C for the company in November 2019. This followed a RMB450 million Series B in August, which was jointly led by China’s National Small Medium Development Fund and Oriental Fortune Capital. GSR United led a round of RMB275 million in April of the same year.
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