China VC Weekly: Semiconductors, Mobility, Home Furnishing and More
Within the course of the past week, several prominent Chinese companies made fundraising announcements. BYD Semiconductor, the eponymous subsidiary of the Shenzhen-based EV-maker BYD, teamed up with Sequoia Capital and other heavyweight investors giving away a 20% stake in the company. Didi-backed European ride-hailing company Bolt added 100 million euros to its fundraising history. SHAREit, a cross-platform software company incubated by Lenovo, bagged an undisclosed investment from Tencent and Kuaishou. Quan55.com, an e-commerce platform concentrating in home furnishing completed a 100-million-yuan Series B+ round.
BYD Semiconductor reveals a list of strategic investors
Chinese EV and battery maker BYD disclosed that its subsidiary BYD Semiconductor has successfully raised funds from a number of strategic investors including Sequoia Capital, China Gold Capital, SDIC Innovation, Himalaya Capital, etc.
BYD Semiconductor’s pre-investment valuation hovered in the ballpark of 7.5 billion yuan, the company picked up roughly 1.9 billion yuan as a result of the recent round with investors obtaining a 20.21% equity in BYD Semiconductor. The company’s post-investment valuation nears 10 billion yuan.
About BYD
BYD Semiconductor, formerly known as BYD Microelectronics, is a subsidiary of BYD covering R&D, production and sales of power semiconductors, smart control integrated circuits, smart sensors and optoelectronic semiconductors.
Uber’s European rival Bolt raises new funds
Estonian mobility startup Bolt received a new round of financing of 100 million euros led Naya Capital Management, the sole investor in the round which was also a major backer of the company in its $67 million Series C round in July 2019.
Bolt’s early investors also include Chinese mobility giant Didi Chuxing. So far, the company has raised a total of 300 million euros in financing, with its valuation reaching 1.7 billion euros.
About Bolt
Bolt is an internet platform offering services spanning ride-hailing, food delivery and travel. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, it is headed by Markus Villig, one of the company’s cofounders.
Lenovo-incubated SHAREit receives investments from Tencent and Kuaishou
Tencent and Kuaishou completed a new round of investment in SHAREit, Chinese cross-platform software company.
The company came to prominence as a provider of file-sharing services but has now transformed into a super-platform covering videos and online games and more. Apart from its main app SHAREit, it also operates SHAREit Pay in India, video streaming service WATCHit and music streaming platform LISTENit and more.
About SHAREit
Incubated by Lenovo Group in 2011, SHAREit was later spun off as an independent app developing company. SHAREit has developed into a global company with a total user base across all its products reaching over 1.8 billion. Its apps consistently rank among the top ten in the Google Play And Apple Store marketplaces.
Home furnishing e-commerce startup raises 100 million yuan in Series B+ round
Home furnishing e-commerce platform Quan5.com has recently completed a nearly 100-million-yuan Series B+ round of financing. The lead investor is an undisclosed US dollar fund, Oriental Fortune Capital and Fosun RZ Capital also contributed to the round.
According to founder and CEO Zhou Zhisheng, the company has made “a million-level profit” in 2019. This year’s total operating income is expected to reach 600-700 million yuan, with the profit increasing 4-5 times over last year.
About Quan.com
Founded in 2016, Quan5.com is an Internet company specializing in home furnishing. It is headquartered in Shenzhen Nanshan Science and Technology Park and has more than 150 employees.
