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Data from the California Department of Motor Vehicles and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economics and Information Technology Autonomous suggests that Pony.ai, based in Silicon Valley, Beijing and Guangzhou, is the best placed firm to offer electronic vehicle (EV) solutions in more than one country. The analysis, compiled by Forbes, employs a wide range of government data, including the number of EV miles driven in California. IDG Capital joined Pony.ai's Series A funding round in 2018.
Infront Sports & Media, an international sports marketing agency based in Switzerland, acquired Threshold Sports, a London-based organizer of sports challenge events, including Ride Across Britain, Race to the Stones, London Revolution, Race to the King and Race to the Tower. Infront said the acquisition will bolster its market presence in the United Kingdom. China's Dalian Wanda Group acquired Infront in 2015, the same year IDG Capital also invested in the firm.
Forbes has included two IDG Capital Partners, Xiaojun Li and Young Guo, on its 2019 Midas List of the “Best Dealmakers in High-Tech Venture Capital. Investments by Li’s team at IDG Capital morphed into seven portfolio IPOs last year, including Pinduoduo, one of China’s leading social e-commerce apps now valued at roughly $30 billion; Bilibili, a Chinese online streaming service now valued at $3 billion; and Liulishuo, an English language-learning app which raised $72 million on the New York Stock Exchange in 2018. Also at IDG Capital, Guo and his team oversaw the firm’s investment in Farfetch, the British online luxury fashion retailer, now listed on the New York Stock Exchange, which generated $1.4 billion in gross merchandise value in 2018.
NIO, a Shanghai-and San Jose-based electric vehicle manufacturer, and Meituan-Dianping, the Hong Kong-listed food delivery giant, have joined CNBC’s 2019 list of the top companies to work for in China. CNBC said it based its ranking on feedback from 40 million LinkedIn users. In 2017, IDG Capital invested in Meituan, which one year later raised $4.2 billion on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. IDG Capital also backed NIO which raised $6.4 billion last year on the New York Stock Exchange.
Forbes has named Neo Nie, the founder of Chinese tea chain Heytea, to its list of the top 30 executives in Asia under the age 30. Heytea sells more than 2,000 cups of tea a day in each of its 170 stores across China. Revenues last year exceeded $150 million, and the firm’s signature product is cheese-flavored tea. Forbes said Nie now spends most of his time developing new products and plans for Heytea to expand globally. IDG Capital led HeyTea's Series A funding round in 2017.
Alibaba has acquired Teambition, an online platform for co-workers to plan and cooperate on a wide range of projects. IDG Capital was among Teambition's early backers, along with Microsoft and Tencent. In making the announcement, Alibaba has not yet disclosed the size of the acquisition. Based in Shanghai, Teambition customers currently include Huawei, Xiaomi, TCL and McDonald's. The firm was founded in 2011 and also maintains offices in several other major Chinese cities.
Nasdaq-listed iQiyi, China's equivalent to Netflix, has announced a proposed offering of six-year convertible bonds, valued at $1.05 billion, which will mature in 2025 with a maximum interest rate of 2% per year. Part of the bond sale proceeds will be used to enhance iQiyi's content offerings, strengthen technology and expand working capital. IDG Capital joined iQiyi's financing round in 2017. The company went public in 2018 with a valuation of $13.5 billion.
KuCoin, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange backed by IDG Capital, is partnering with Simplex, an Israel-based payment processing company, to enable the purchase of cryptocurrency using credit cards. KuCoin customers can now use credit cards to purchase Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Bitcoin Cash ABC (BCHABC) and Litecoin (LTC) for both dollars and euros in more than 100 countries. IDG Capital co- led KuCoin's $20 million Series A round in November 2018.
IDG Capital has joined a $74 million Series B funding round in Shuidichou, a Chinese healthcare crowdfunding platform. Founded in 2016, Shuidichou offers healthcare insurance solutions and helps poor families get treatment for diseases. The company, also known as Waterdrop, said it will use the investment to expand its team of healthcare insurance professionals and also find new ways to apply artificial intelligence to strengthen its product offering.
Guangzhou-based electric car maker XPENG Motors is disrupting the auto making industry with smart electric cars and autonomous driving. The five-year-old startup is now on track to sell between 40,000 to 50,000 electric vehicles in China this year. It also aims to expand globally by strengthening its research and development team and focusing on autonomous driving and artificial intelligence technologies. IDG Capital co-led XPENG's $348 million Series B round in 2018.
Farfetch, an online luxury fashion platform based in London, and Nicola Bulgari, Vice Chairman of jeweler Bulgari Group based in Rome, have completed a strategic funding round in The Modist, an online women's fashion retailer headquartered in Dubai. The Modist has been selling luxury fashion brands on Farfetch's global marketplace since 2018. Farfetch’s investment is expected to broaden market reach into the Middle East. IDG Capital led Farfetch's Series F funding round in 2016. The company went public in 2018 with a valuation of $5.8 billion.
Razer, a Hong Kong-listed gaming hardware manufacturer, is collaborating with Tencent, one of the top Internet companies in China, on a wide range of initiatives related to smartphone-based games. The partnership with Tencent will cover hardware, software and services. IDG Capital was an early investment in Tencent in 1999 and IDG Capital-Accel China invested $50 million in Razer in 2011. Tencent went public in 2004 with a valuation of $11 billion and Razer went public in 2017 with a valuation of $4.4 billion.
SenseTime, the world's most valuable artificial intelligence startup, is developing new automotive AI applications for autonomous vehicles. The initiative is expected to expand its global footprint. Valued at $4.5 billion, the Hong Kong-based firm has been profitable for two years running and now has 3,000 employees. SenseTime said it will also be actively seeking investments in other startups which can benefit from its technology and funding resources. IDG Capital was one of SenseTime's earliest investors and has actively participated in several funding rounds since the firm was founded in 2014.
French investment group Eurazeo has sold its entire stake in Italian fashion firm Moncler for 445 million euros or roughly $500 million. Eurazeo also said its eight-year investment generated 1.4 billion euros in profits for a 43% internal return rate. IDG Capital was an early investor in Moncler, which went public on the Milan Stock Exchange in 2013.
Insta360, a Shenzhen-based company that sells cameras able with 360-degree videos capability, has raised $30 million in funding and is planning to go public in 2020. Insta360, a GoPro rival, will be use the new funding to develop new products based on artificial intelligence-related research. It also plans to expand globally into branded physical stores. IDG Capital led Insta360's angel round funding in 2014 and also participated in the company's Series A and Series B rounds.
XPENG Motors, a leading Chinese electric vehicle (EV) and technology company, plans to unveil a high-performance coupe at the Auto Shanghai 2019 exposition in mid-April. The new EV model will showcase XPENG’s in-house autonomous driving capabilities and other intelligent connected vehicle technologies. IDG Capital, Alibaba and Foxconn led the company’s $348 million Series B round in 2018.