IDG, Morningside commit $20m to China social networking app

The round values the company at $100 million, Fan Lin, Maimai's founder, told local media. Investors are optimistic about prospect of professionals using the social mobile app, given the success of US-based industry peer LinkedIn, which has a market valuation of over $10 billion.

Morningside previously committed $5 million in a Series A round last year.

Launched in October, Maimai provides a platform for professionals to develop business contacts within their working fields. It claims to have over 800,000 registered users.

Several venture capital firms, including GGV Capital, Qiming Venture Partners and corporate investors Tencent Holdings and Qihoo360 Technology have expressed their interest to invest in Maimai since March, Lin added.

The bulk of this latest round of the funding will go towards marketing. The firm plans to broaden its user base, aiming to attract 30-40% of people working in the internet industry.

In April, Warburg Pincus led a $70 million Series C round for Liepin.com, a Chinese online recruitment service provider, with participation from existing investor Matrix Partners China. The investment came shortly after its rival HunterOn secured a Series A round from IDG worth a reported $10 million.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Venture
• Technology
• China
• Venture
• TMT
• IDG Capital Partners
• Morningside Technologies