Chinese Online Grocer Dingdong Maicai Raises $330 Million in Latest Funding Round

Chinese grocery platform Dingdong Maicai raised $330 million in a Series D+ round of financing led by the SoftBank Vision Fund, according to investor and advisor Cygnus Equity, as the startup continues its expansion in the crowded fresh food delivery market.

The new round of fundraising followed the vegetable e-commerce app’s $700 million D round completed last month, which was co-led by investment firms DST Global and Coatue Management.

This brings the platform’s total recent fundraising to more than $1 billion, Cygnus Equity said on its official WeChat account on Wednesday.

During a previous round of financing, the online grocer said it would use the funds for regional expansion and supply chain investment.

Founded in 2017 in Shanghai, Dingdong Maicai (叮咚买菜) delivers fresh produce such as fruits, vegetables and meat to users’ doorstep within 24 hours. It counts Sequoia China and Qiming Ventures as its early backers.

Last May, Reuters reported that the firm raised $300 million in a funding round that valued it at $2 billion, benefiting from a rise in demand from residents in lockdown during the pandemic.

In February, Bloomberg reported that Dingdong Maicai is considering an initial public offering in the US this year and could again raise at least $300 million.

Right now, the online grocer processes around 900,000 orders daily and earns a monthly revenue of more than 1.5 billion yuan, according to 21st Century Business Herald.

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The startup operates approximately 1,000 warehouses across 27 cities including Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. It directly competes with other grocery platforms operated by Alibaba and JD.com, as well as Meituan Maicai, Tencent’s MissFresh, Didi’s Chengxin Youxuan and Pinduoduo’s Duoduo Maicai.

China’s online fresh foods sector could reach 1.27 trillion yuan ($197 billion) by 2025, according to Chinese market research institute Qianzhan. Companies in the industry often attract users through exclusive contracts with suppliers, as well as heavy subsidies.