China Funding Flow: Fintech startups are shining stars

Chinese start-ups are increasingly drawing the attention of international investors. Fintech companies going public from China have remained the cynosure for stock investors globally (especially, in the US market).

After cashing on the cashless boom in China fintech companies are now offering payments assistance for taxies and other utilities to their users outside mainland China.

Alipay and WeChat Pay, China’s two dominant mobile payment platforms, are acting on its expansion plans by some initiatives which will allow taxis outside China to accept digital payments from Chinese travellers using these services.

Below are the hot deals in Chinese startup ecosystem:

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence-powered Chinese startup, New Tranx has raised $7.5 million in pre-series A round which saw participation from Kaitai Capital, Bojiang Capital Management Group, and other investors. The Beijing-based startup provides instant online translation and it's capable to translate 37 languages and has categorized 570 million Chinese-English sentences for better quality.

Megvii has raised $460 million from China State-owned Venture Capital Fund with participation from Ant Financial and Foxconn Technology. Beijing-based startup operating a face recognition cloud services platform.

SoundAI has received $15 million series A funding from Baidu, Aplus Capital, Frees Fund, and Linekong Interactive Group. SoundAI technology includes ultrasonic recognition, directional speakers, acoustic communication, three-dimensional sound, wireless audio, conference systems to support its AI tech application.

Automotive:

Xiaolvren has received $12 million in series A+ round led by Zheda Youchuang, which also saw participation from Zhonghai Investment, Service Center of Zhongguancun Haidian Science Park, River Capital, Hangzhou Joyni Capital. Xiaolvren is a Chinese electric car charging pile developer. It allows a customer to charge the electric bike by QR code scanning and can be paid using online payments.

Also Read: China Funding Flow: TMT sector witnesses downfall in last nine months

Online car trading platform, Chehaoduo has received $180 million in series B+ round from bunch of investors which include DST Global, Capital Today, Bank of China Investment, Sequoia Capital China, H Capital, Matrix Partners China, BlueRun Ventures and Dragoneer Investment Group. It’s online platform which deals in used and new cars, currently its operational in over 200 cities in 30 provinces in China.

SouChe has raised $335 million series E from Alibaba Group with participation from Warburg Pincus, Primavera Capital, and CMB International. It’s a second-hand car trading service provider in China which operates through a platform in an online-to-offline mode.

Online used car platform, Tiantian Paiche has received $80 million in series C round from Industrial Bank of China. Hanfor Capital Management also participated in the round.

Edtech:

Ingcare has got $1.5 million pre-series A round from THG Ventures with participation from Beijing Chengchuang Lihe Angel Investment Company. The Beijing-based company offers educational resources for autistic children. It’s an autism recovery service platform.

Changingedu has raised $55 million in series D round from ClearVue Partners. IDG Capital, Sequoia Capital, Trustbridge Partners and FreeS Fund also participated in the round. It offers online to offline courses and special one-to-one courses on weekends.

Artificial Intelligence-powered education firm, Fclassroom has received $15 million in series b round led by DHVC. Fclassroom develops a smart education system by image recognition and natural language processing technology to assist students in home assignments and exam preparation.

Acadsoc has raised $15 million series B+ round from Shenzhen Capital Group which also saw participation by Shenzhen IDG capital. It caters to Chinese students to prepare for English language courses and exams like BEC, IELTS, TOEFL.

Rental & Sharing

Shouqi Limousine & Chauffeur has raised $90 million series B round from Oceanwide Holdings. It is a Chinese ride booking app which is operational in 47 cities in China and has obtained 24 Internet car-hailing licenses.

Beijing-based car rental company, TOGO has raised $22 million series b funding round from SIG and Zhen fund. TOGO provides cars rental services on an hourly basis, a customer can find and rent the vehicles using the mobile app.

Others:

Citycloud has raised $30 million in series B funding round, co-led by Cisco Investments and Country Garden Holdings. Hangzhou-based startup specialised in cloud computing and big data technology. It develops and sells Smart+Connected Communities platforms and cloud computing services.

Also Read: China Funding Flow: VC deals in US startups witness slowdown

Jian24 has raised $4.5 million angel round funding from Bluerun Ventures and Redpoint Ventures. It’s a checkout free convenience store which allows customer to shop by QR code scan and pay by mobile payments.

Zhicang has received $1.5 million pre-series A funding round led by Shenzhen Albatross Venture Capital, and also saw participation from Bluerun Ventures. It specialises machine learning technology and operations research algorithm for logistics companies.

fxBox received $1.5 million series A round from Cherubic Ventures. It’s a Chinese checkout free convenience store operator which allow customers to enter in shop by face recognition or QR scan and can be paid using smartphone.

Shanghai-based media and entertainment management company, Youhug Media has raised $14.8 million in Strategic financing round which is co-led by National Small and Medium-size Enterprises Development Fund with participation by Tencent Holdings and Yunfeng Capital.

Caidao has received $1.5 million in series A funding round led by Career International Consulting. It is a human resource SAAS provider which can assist in attendance, salary, and other employee records. It also allows employees to schedule leaves and others HR services.

Beijing-based medical imaging technology start-up Huiyihuiying has raised $15 million series B round led by Delta Capital. It offers AI-based medical imaging diagnosis platform and big data analysis cloud platform which can help in the diagnosis of lung cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, ovarian cancer and other common cancers.

Faceu has received $50 million in series C round from undisclosed investors. The online platform allows users to add live effects in pictures and videos. Live effects include stickers connecting with social media platforms.

Ferris Wheel Ticketing has raised $25 million in series B+ round led by Blue Lake Capital. It also saw participation from DCM Ventures, Matrix Partners China, Nanshan Capital, K2VC and Zhen Fund. It’s a ticketing platform which offers tickets for concerts, operas, dramas, musicals, dance and ballet shows and exhibitions.

YunQuNa has got $15 million in a strategic financing round from China Merchants Capital Investment. Its services include logistics price inquiry, cargo space booking, customs clearance, logistics tracking, cargo handling and insurance.

idongde.com has raised $150k in angel funding round led by Chunxiao Capital. It’s a knowledge sharing and short video platform which covers healthcare, technology, food and maternity topics.

Tage I-driver has received $1.5 million pre-series A funding from Chentao Capital with participation from Baixi Investment. Beijing-based start-up developing technology for driver-assistance systems and autonomous driving robots. Its autonomous driving system can be used for mining area, vehicle testing, machinery operation.

Lending platform Pendanaan has raised $1 million in series A round led by Legend Capital. It’s a personal lending startup which offers affordable and flexible digital credit through mobile devices.

Hangzhou-based Internet of things startup LifeSmart has raised $12 million in series B round which is led by Walden International it also saw participation from Daohe Fund. It offers smart home appliances including surveillance camera, intelligent door lock, gas leakage detector, and air purifier.

Data analytics start-up Asking Data has received $5.3 million series A funding led by Baidu Ventures, it also saw participation from IPV Capital and CDI Fund.

A1Food has raised $10 million series A round from Capital Today and Dyee Capital. it’s a high-end food and snacks brand which mainly sells nuts, pastry, and other snacks.

Quanyi pharmacy has raised series B funding round led by Hony Capital, however, financials remained undisclosed. Quanyi is dedicated to developing a modern multi-dimensional pharmacy service system integrating bricks-and-mortar stores, pharmaceutical services, business-to-customer and Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) businesses.

Beijing-based Chinese Airbnb rival startup Xiaozhu has raised $120 million from Yunfeng Capital. it’s a platform for daily rental and short-term rooms.

(Stay tuned to get updates on funding and other trends on the Chinese startup ecosystem. Entrackr brings you to the latest funding updates from India and China)