IDG WeChat qr Code
Italian luxury apparel manufacturer Moncler has agreed to acquire Stone Island, a rival maker of high-end sportswear, in a transaction valuing the brand $1.4 billion. Stone Island, founded in 1982, is known for colorful edgy sport jackets with high-tech fabrics and has made garments that change colors depending on temperature. With Stone Island, Moncler is diversifying with a more technical brand and will help Stone Island improve its online distribution. IDG Capital was an early investor in Moncler, which went public in Milan in 2013.
Firework, a Redwood City, Calif.-based short-form video-sharing platform competing with TikTok, has launched a partnership with Jukin Media, a Los Angeles-based entertainment company. The partnership allows Firework to expand its reach to more cutting-edge publishers, businesses, and professional creators through Jukin Media’s content engines. In early 2021, Firework audiences will grow to over one billion. IDG Capital led a $30 million funding in Firework in 2019 and was also an early investor in Loop Now Technologies, Firework's parent firm.
Luminar Technologies, an IDG Capital-backed startup that makes LIDAR sensors for autonomous driving technology, has debuted on Nasdaq, marking the second Silicon Valley firm to go public while working to deliver a key sensor for self-driving cars. Luminar currently has a deal with Volvo, owned by Chinese carmaker Geely, to supply lidar units for consumer vehicles with production starting in 2022. IDG Capital was an early investor in Luminar when the startup was still under stealth mode. Luminar is also IDG Capital’s 10th portfolio company that has gone public in 2020.
Three Squirrels, China's leading e-commerce snack brand, continues its success on the rise of e-commerce operations and is now targeting offline operations by partnership with Alibaba and Suning. After opening its first offline store in Wuhu in 2016, the brand later also entered Suzhou market through its next offline store in 2017. As of December 2019, Three Squirrels’ annual sales exceeded USD 1.4 billion, making it the first company in China’s snack food industry to surpass the double-digit billion mark in revenue. IDG Capital led Three Squirrels' $1.5 million Series A round in 2012 and also joined its Series B and Series C rounds.
Chinese leading electric vehicle manufacturer NIO is now close to $10 billion more valuable than U.S. auto industry stalwart General Motors, with a market cap over $65 billion. NIO has made some changes to its business model that appear to have improved sales. The company also receives subsidy support from Beijing as the government sets a target for new energy vehicles (NEVs) to account for 20% of China’s auto sales by 2025. Previously, IDG Capital joined NIO's Series B+ funding round. NIO went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2018.
Chinese leading electric vehicle manufacturer NIO is now close to $10 billion more valuable than U.S. auto industry stalwart General Motors, with a market cap over $65 billion. NIO has made some changes to its business model that appear to have improved sales. The company also receives subsidy support from Beijing as the government sets a target for new energy vehicles (NEVs) to account for 20% of China’s auto sales by 2025. Previously, IDG Capital joined NIO's Series B+ funding round. NIO went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2018.
IDG Capital has led a $80 million Series B round in PTM Biolabs, a Hangzhou-based firm that develops proteomics technology to help diagnose and treat human diseases. Founded in 2010, PTM Biolabs uses proteomics technology to examine profiles of proteins, histone epigenetic marks, and protein post-translational modifications. Apart from its headquarter in China, the company also has offices in Chicago.
Online luxury fashion platform Farfetch launched “Luxury New Retail,” a key initiative for the partners that seeks to digitize the global luxury business. The strategy brings a level of interconnectedness that allows a brand to serve its patrons based on a comprehensive view of the individual’s tastes, preferences, buying or browsing habits, blurring the line between online e-commerce and offline retail. The company will also leverage the technology partnership with Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba. In 2016, IDG Capital led Farfetch's Series F funding round.
Online luxury fashion platform Farfetch launched “Luxury New Retail,” a key initiative for the partners that seeks to digitize the global luxury business. The strategy brings a level of interconnectedness that allows a brand to serve its patrons based on a comprehensive view of the individual’s tastes, preferences, buying or browsing habits, blurring the line between online e-commerce and offline retail. The company will also leverage the technology partnership with Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba. In 2016, IDG Capital led Farfetch's Series F funding round.
Online luxury fashion platform Farfetch launched “Luxury New Retail,” a key initiative for the partners that seeks to digitize the global luxury business. The strategy brings a level of interconnectedness that allows a brand to serve its patrons based on a comprehensive view of the individual’s tastes, preferences, buying or browsing habits, blurring the line between online e-commerce and offline retail. The company will also leverage the technology partnership with Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba. In 2016, IDG Capital led Farfetch's Series F funding round.
Farfetch, an online luxury fashion platform based in London, has secured $1.1 billion in investment from Chinese tech giant Alibaba and Swiss watch and jewelry group Richemont, which it will use to expand in the fast-growing luxury goods market in China. As part of the partnership, Farfetch will help fashion and upmarket brands launch their own online stores on Alibaba’s Tmall Luxury Pavilion and Tmall Global. The two platforms already attract millions of Chinese shoppers. Previously, IDG Capital co-led Farfetch's Series F funding round in 2016.
Zhiketong, a digital marketing provider offering SaaS-supported transaction services to four and five-star hotels in China, has raised $50 million in a Series D funding round. Founded in 2014, Zhiketong is designed to be a specialist in software-as-a-service (SaaS) and internet-driven digital marketing services. Proceeds from the current round will be used for product and service innovations, market expansion, business development and digitalization transformation. Previously, IDG Capital joined Zhiketong’s Series C round.
Pony.ai, an autonomous driving startup based in China and Silicon Valley, has received investment from automaker FAW group, making it the first strategic investment by a Chinese state-owned vehicle manufacturer into an autonomous-technology company. Pony.ai technology will be used in a vehicle platform that forms the basis of FAW’s Red Flag-branded electric cars. Pony.ai will also work with FAW’s Jiefang arm, the first time its technology will be used in trucks. IDG Capital was a seed investor in Pony.ai and also joined a $112 million Series A funding round in 2018.
Real-time communications software developer Zego, China’s answer to Zoom, has raised $50 million investment led by Tencent. Existing backer IDG Capital also joined this round and has become Zego’s largest institutional investor. Founded in 2015 by former Tencent QQ head, Zego offers real-time voice and video technology that powers game streaming platforms, online classes and, increasingly, enterprises that had to adapt to remote work during and after Covid-19 disruptions. In 2015, IDG Capital led Zego’s $3.5 million Series A financing round. IDG Capital was an early investment in Tencent in 1999.
In an interview, Wayne Ting, the CEO of Lime, a leading electric scooter and bike-sharing provider, says that Lime’s riders are coming back; the company just announced it has reached the milestone of 200 million rides. Lime expects to achieve another milestone in 2021: becoming profitable. By aggregating more types of small electric vehicles into its platform, the company hopes to become a “one-stop-shop for anyone looking to take a car-free trip under five miles,” Ting has said. IDG Capital joined Lime's Series A funding round in 2017.
IDG Sports has announced a 10-year commercial partnership with the International Ski Federation (FIS) to promote the Get into Snow Sports (GISS)-China grassroots program. Changsha Shangxue Sports, IDG’s operational company, is set to handle the implementation of the program, including developing a campus course focused on Chinese schools and introducing more children to snow sports. "IDG Capital and IDG Sports are not only investors in the GISS-China Program but also the exclusive operator and promoter… We are committed to promoting the sustainable and stable development of snow sports and the snow industry in China in the long-term,” said Li Zhang, VP of IDG China.