IDG WeChat qr Code
Tencent, one of the largest Internet companies in China, invested $317.6 million in Bilibili, a Shanghai-based video-sharing website specializing in animation. Tencent, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and Bilibili, listed on Nasdaq, are both IDG Capital-backed. IDG Capital invested in Tencent in 1999, and led Bilibili's series A funding round in 2014.
IDG Capital was the world’s most active early-stage investor during Q3 2018 with 21 investments. Crunchbase also ranked IDG Capital among the world’s top three most active lead investors with 14 deals during the same quarter. Four IDG Capital-backed companies also went public during Q3 – smartphone maker Xiaomi, social e-commerce platform Pinduoduo, electric automotive vehicle firm NIO and luxury fashion e-retailer Farfetch.
Ctrip, China's largest online travel agency, is partnering with Splyt, a London-based ride-hailing platform with a global customer base. Ctrip clients will now be able to book rides in over 50 countries. IDG Capital was an early investor in Shanghai-based Ctrip, which went public on Nasdaq in 2003.
Neutron Holdings, based in San Mateo, California, will provide its Lime scooter services in Waterloo, Canada, the startup company's first scooter-share pilot program in that country. Lime also recently expanded its operations into Paris, Frankfurt and Zurich. The firm, now valued at $467 million, provides scooters and bikes in a total of seven countries. IDG Capital joined Lime's Series A funding round in 2017.
Opera, a web browsing company based in Oslo, Norway, is expanding its blockchain technology applications through a partnership with Ledger Capital, a Washington, D.C.-based cryptocurrency advisory firm. In July, Opera raised $115 million during an initial public offering on Nasdaq. Previously. IDG Capital joined Opera's pre-IPO private placement, and Opera also recently received an investment from Bitmain, an IDG Capital-backed bitcoin mining company.
LAIX Inc., an online English education platform powered by artificial intelligence, raised $71.9 million during its initial public offering public on the New York Stock Exchange. Founded in 2013, Shanghai-based LAIX serves 83.3 million users worldwide, including 7.2 million monthly active users. IDG Capital previously participated in LAIX's Series A funding round.
Baidu "mini-programs” have accumulated 100 million active monthly users since the Chinese search engine introduced these products two months ago. Mini-programs with less than 10 megabytes of storage run on the firms main app's interface and aren't stored in Badu's app store. IDG Capital was an early investor in Baidu, which went public on Nasdaq in 2005 and is now the largest search engine in China.
Castbox, a San Francisco-based podcast platform, has introduced a new blockchain-powered, in-app payment system, which allows listeners to purchase premium subscriptions directly from their favorite podcasters. IDG Capital co-led Castbox's Series A funding round in 2017.
Farfetch, an online fashion and luxury goods retailer, raised $885 million from its New York Stock Exchange initial public offering, surging 53% during the first day of trading. The London-based fashion firm is now valued at $5.8 billion. In 2017, Farfetch posted $386 million in revenue on sales of more than 700 luxury brands sold worldwide. The firm currently works with more than 2,000 leading designers. IDG Capital co-led Farfetch's Series F funding round in 2016.
Ping An Good Doctor, an online healthcare platform, unveiled its latest artificial intelligence-assisted medical consultation system at the 2018 World AI Expo in Shanghai The Shenzhen-based firm said the system will help ease China's widespread doctor shortage. Ping An Good Doctor, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, currently has 228 million users and processes 500,000 online consultations per day. IDG Capital invested the company in 2016.
Wang Zhang, China's Minister of Science and Technology, has asked SenseTime, a Hong Kong artificial intelligence and facial recognition startup, to establish an “open innovation platform for next-generation AI.” Founded in 2014 and valued at $4.5 billion, SenseTime has offices throughout China, as well as Singapore and Japan. SenseTime also works closely with many international institutions, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. IDG Capital led SenseTime's initial Series A funding round in 2014.
Food delivery giant Meituan-Dianping, the Chinese equivalent to Groupon and Yelp, had an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Shares rose 5% during its debut. The firm is now valued at $55 billion. Founded in 2010, Meituan-Dianping offers a wide range of services, from restaurant reviews to food orders, and it recently acquired Chinese bike-sharing platform MoBike. The Beijing-based firm currently has 50,000 employees, plus a 600,000-person delivery service, making it the world's largest online delivery platform. IDG Capital joined Meituan-Dianping's pre-IPO funding round in 2017.
iQiyi, China's equivalent to Netflix, is targeting the largely untapped senior citizens in China with a new short video app featuring current events, politics, health topics and military news. IDG Capital joined iQiyi's private financing round in 2017. The Beijing-based video platform, now listed on NASDAQ, is currently valued at $20.8 billion. IDG Capital recently took a 13.33% stake in iQiyi Sports, the company's new sports streaming arm.
Rossignol, a leading winter sports clothing and equipment maker, will open stores in Beijing and Shanghai, and also sell products on leading Chinese e-commerce sites. The French company's expansion plans coincide with a growing market in China for winter sports gear, coinciding with the government's build-up to and the launch of the next Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022. In June, IDG Capital took a 20% stake in Rossignol, which makes skis and alpine, snowboard and Nordic equipment, along with outerwear and accessories.
Facebook's recently released list of Top 50 Chinese Brands in 2018 includes seven IDG Capital-backed companies: Anker, a global consumer electronics giant making everything from chargers to robotic vacuum cleaners; Meitu, a Chinese innovator in mobile video and photography; SheIn, a global online women’s fashion retailer founded in New Jersey but which now has customers in more than 80 countries; Club Factory, an international fashion retailer for both men and women, with more than 40 million customers in India alone; Tencent, the world's sixth largest Internet company; WeCash, China's leading big data credit assessment platform; and HKSE-listed Xiaomi, ranked this year among the Top Five global smartphone makers.
IDG Capital co-led a $17.5 million Series B funding round in AllDream, a Shanghai-based online computer science education platform targeting teenagers. The firm’s website currently counts more than 100,000 families in 50 cities as members. Renewal rates for the AllDream website exceed 90%, and many of the firm’s apps and gaming products are now available in the Apple App Store.