China’s Red raises $500m at $20b valuation

Existing investors Alibaba Group, Genesis Capital, and Tiantu Capital re-upped. Alibaba led a $300 million Series D round in 2018.

Red reportedly cancelled its US IPO plans this year amid regulatory crackdowns requiring internet platforms with data from more than 100 million users to get official approval before a US listing. Earlier this month, it was among the 38 apps ordered by Chinese regulators to rectify an excessive collection of user data.

Red was founded in 2013 by Fang Yu and Wenchao Mao with a view to targeting consumers born after the 1990s. They built the site around a social networking concept, whereby users post videos, photos, and opinions of products, and these goods are then made available for purchase by the wider community. It covers fashion, cosmetics, health and wellness, food, travel, and entertainment.

The company claims to be the world’s largest consumer word-of-mouth database and community e-commerce platform. As of August, it had more than 130 million monthly active users and 45 million daily active users, up 70% year-on-year, according to Quest Mobile. They include celebrities from the arts and sports worlds, who use Red as a platform for snapshots of their daily lives.

AVCJ Research’s records show that ZhenFund provided seed funding to Red in 2013 and then re-upped for a Series A the following year, accompanied by GGV. In 2015, GGV, GSR and Tiantu all took part in the Series B, the size of which was not disclosed. Tencent then led a $100 million round, joined by several existing investors, in 2016.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Technology
• Consumer
• Media
• China
• TMT
• Alibaba Group
• Tiantu Capital
• Tencent
• Temasek Holdings