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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.
카카오가 오는 6월부터 블록체인 사업을 한다. 자회사 그라운드X에서 개발한 블록체인 서비스 ‘클레이튼’을 국내외 멤버십 서비스, 공유자전거 서비스, 게임 서비스 등에 적용할 전망이다. 클레이튼 서비스가 본격 적용되는 것은 오는 6월이다. 블록체인 서비스의 ‘심장’인 메인넷(차세대 블록체인 시스템)을 이때 론칭한다. 그라운드X는 최대 5000TPS(초당 거래량)까지 클레이튼의 처리 속도를 끌어올리겠다는 목표를 세웠다. 그라운드X는 지난해 9월부터 12월까지 IDG캐피털 등에서 1000억원을 투자받은 데 이어 다음달에도 최대 1000억원을 추가로 받을 예정이다.
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.
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.
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.
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.
카카오가 오는 6월부터 블록체인 사업을 한다. 자회사 그라운드X에서 개발한 블록체인 서비스 ‘클레이튼’을 국내외 멤버십 서비스, 공유자전거 서비스, 게임 서비스 등에 적용할 전망이다. 클레이튼 서비스가 본격 적용되는 것은 오는 6월이다. 블록체인 서비스의 ‘심장’인 메인넷(차세대 블록체인 시스템)을 이때 론칭한다. 그라운드X는 최대 5000TPS(초당 거래량)까지 클레이튼의 처리 속도를 끌어올리겠다는 목표를 세웠다. 그라운드X는 지난해 9월부터 12월까지 IDG캐피털 등에서 1000억원을 투자받은 데 이어 다음달에도 최대 1000억원을 추가로 받을 예정이다.
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.
On the fifth anniversary of Patrick J. McGovern’s death, the Boston Globe honored the memory of the U.S. information technology media CEO for his contributions to the global IT industry. McGovern, who founded International Data Group in Boston in 1964, was also an early investor in IDG Capital, which in 1992 became the first U.S.-based venture capital company to enter the China market. In 2017, IDG Capital, which has since expanded into private equity, took a minority investment in both International Data Group and its global market research arm, International Data Corp.
Royole Corp, a global flexible screen manufacturer headquartered in Shenzhen, is seeking $1 billion in a funding round in advance of an initial public offering, the date for which has not been set. Royole said it anticipates a valuation of $8 billion as the company expand sales, marketing and research. IDG Capital participated in its Series B funding in 2013 and Series C in 2015.