Sequoia leads $15m Series B for Chinese food platform Mishi

Mishi formally launched at the end of March but previously received seed and Series A rounds from Morningside Technologies. The VC firm has also participated in the most recent investment. The capital will be used to support business development, marketing and ensuring product safety.

Mishi claims to have more than 400,000 daily users and nearly 15,000 registered private kitchens across 300 cities, according to local media. It recently sponsored an online food festival during which 18,000 orders were processed in the first hour and 90,000 during the entire three-day event.

Xiao Feng, the company's founder, said this strong demand indicates that the popularity of private kitchens is not a temporary phenomenon, adding that Mishi helps satisfy consumers' appetite for traditional, authentic cuisine.

Yu Cheng, a partner at Morningside, added that a combination of leadership, determination and a deep understanding of the market have enabled Xiao and his team to build a business from scratch to a scale of operations well beyond expectations.

Venture capital funding has poured into China's online food-ordering space, although it has focused on commercial restaurant chains that don't have the capital or technology to run dedicated online platforms. Earlier this year, CITIC Private Equity and Sequoia, as well as strategic players Tencent Holdings, JD.com and Dianping provided a $350 million Series E round for Ele.me.

JD is also an investor in rival service Daojia, while Dianping and Tencent have committed capital to Meican and Line0, respectively.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Venture
• Consumer
• Technology
• Greater China
• Venture
• Sequoia Capital
• Morningside Technologies
• China
• Consumer
• TMT