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Chinese electric vehicle (EV) startup Xpeng has secured permits for its new P7 electric sports sedan to test drive on American roads. The P7 electric sedan is Xpeng's second production model and has the longest driving range among electric vehicles sold in China. The road tests in the US will provide a“supplement”to the company's research in China. IDG Capital co-led Xpeng's $348 million Series B round in 2018.
Firework, a Redwood City, Calif.-based short-form video-sharing platform competing with TikTok, has signed a global strategic partnership with Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi. Firework's catalogue of 30-second short videos will be available to Mi Video users. The partnership will also extend Firework's Reveal technology, which allows videos to have a 360-degree horizontal and vertical point of view, to Mi Video. Previously, IDG Capital led a $30 million funding in Firework and was also an early investor in Xiaomi.
IDG Capital joined a $36million Series B+ financing round in Fenbeitong, a Beijing-based business expenses management start-up. Founded in 2015, Fenbeitong develops a corporate wallet app that allows users to manage, pay and receive reimbursement for business expenses. The company said it would use the new fund for product optimization and workforce expansion with additional research and development staff. Previously, IDG Capital led Fenbeitong's $4.36 million Series A round, co-led a $5.82 million Series A+ round and also joined its Series B financing round.
Bilibili, an IDG Capital-backed Chinese video-sharing platform, has become a new battleground for tech companies to reach young people in China. Founded in 2009, Shanghai-based Bilibili is the biggest video, animation and gaming entertainment platform for China’s fast-growing Generation Z market segment, which comprises people born between 1990 and 2009. Chinese tech companies, including Alibaba, Tencent and JD.com, have created official accounts on Bilibili. Prior to Bilibili’s listing on Nasdaq, IDG Capital led Bilibili's Series A funding round and also joined its A+ and B rounds.
Circle, a Blockchain-based cryptocurrency fintech firm, intends to sell crowdfunding platform SeedInvest and focus on developing its stablecoin products. The company will roll out new APIs and Circle business accounts that allow corporate clients to conduct business in USDC, a token designed to hold value against the U.S. dollar. Previously, IDG Capital was the lead investor in Circle's $50 million Series C and $60 million Series D funding rounds.
Meituan Dianping, China's leading on-demand service platform, has led an $87 million Series B round in Wangjiahuan, a Shenzhen-based agricultural products distributor. Founded in 1995, Wangjiahuan operates over 130 million square meters of agricultural production bases, serving more than 200 food brands and nearly 20,000 large-scale institutional clients nationwide. IDG Capital was an early investor in Meituan, which went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2018.
Huazhu Group, a Nasdaq-listed hotel operator, is merging its Elan brand with Shanghai-based hotel chain HHotel. The multi-brand hotel group says this move will enable small- and medium-sized monomer hotels impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. Previously, IDG first invested in Huazhu in 2017 and the two companies then jointly invested in HHotel. As of December 2019, Huazhu operated 5,618 hotels all over China.
HoloMatic, a Beijing-based autonomous driving firm backed by IDG Capital, has joined CB Insights' annual ranking of the 100 most promising AI startups in the world. The list is made from nearly 5,000 startups, based on patent activity, business relations, investor profile, market potential, team strength and other factors. Founded in 2017, HoloMatic provides full-stack solutions, including wire control, multi-sensor fusion and core algorithm designs. IDG Capital led HoloMatic's angel round in 2017 and also joined its Series A round in 2018.
KuCoin, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange backed by IDG Capital, has now launched its Instant Exchange service that allows users to exchange some of the top crypto assets within seconds. Launched in 2017, KuCoin has grown into one of the most popular crypto exchanges to its 5 million users spread across 207 countries. IDG Capital co-led KuCoin's $20 million Series A round in November 2018.
Opera, a web browsing company based in Oslo, Norway, has released a new web browser that aims to help users get their chaotic mess of open tabs back under control. A new feature called “Workspaces”allows users to organize tabs based on different contexts, including work, free time activities, personal projects and more. Opera said it is reaching now more than 68 million monthly users. The company went public on Nasdaq in 2018, raising $115 million. IDG Capital joined Opera's pre-IPO financing round.
IDG Capital led a $50 million Series B funding round in Guoquan Shihui, a convenience store chain that provides hot pot and barbecue ingredients in China. Over the past three years, Guoquan has opened more than 1,700 offline stores in China, covering 8 provinces and 3 municipalities. The financing will be used to optimize product supply chains, expand core market areas, run online businesses, and strengthen company teams.
Meituan Dianping, China's leading food delivery app backed by IDG Capital, has joined a $113 million financing round in Swiggy, India’s largest food delivery startup. Swiggy said it will use the capital to invest in“new lines of business”such as cloud kitchens and delivery beyond food items, and get on a“sustainable path to profitability.”The new round values Swiggy at about $3.6 billion. IDG Capital was an early investor in Meituan, which went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2018.
Coinbase, a San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange, is now a Visa Principal Member. The company has been working with Paysafe to launch its Visa debit card and the new status can help Coinbase control a bigger percentage of the card payment stack. Coinbase says it is the only cryptocurrency company that has reached that level of certification. IDG Capital was an angel investor in Coinbase in 2013.
StradVision, a South Korea-based camera perception software startup for autonomous cars, has been selected to pitch its products at“Startup Autobahn", a platform that allows promising startups to present their automotive technology products directly to Germany's top automakers. Founded in 2014, StradVision develops deep learning-based software for cameras to understand objects on the road and aid autonomous vehicle offerings. Last December, IDG Capital joined a $27 million Series B funding round for StradVision.
In an interview at the World Economic Forum, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, a Boston-based crypto trading firm, predicted the upcoming mass adoption of digital currencies. As the blockchain infrastructure continues improving, Allaire also said, more and more people could use digital currencies in daily life. Previously, IDG Capital was the lead investor in Circle's $50 million Series C and $60 million Series D funding rounds.
Ping An Good Doctor, China's largest healthcare and online medial platform, recorded an increase of 10 times in the number of new registered users between January and February. The platform currently provides free online and telephone consultations to people concerned about Corona Virus. Ping An Good Doctor is targeting 10 million users of the service by 2024. Previously, IDG Capital backed Ping An Good Doctor in 2016 and 2018. The company went public in 2018 with a valuation of $7.45 billion.