Who could have imagined even just five years ago that a Chinese tech startup could raise $5.5 billion in funding and compete with U.S. giants on their home turf? Chalk one up for China's leading ride-hailing service
Didi Chuxing -- the same upstart that bested
Uber in China last year. This new financing has set a record for China's fast-growth companies that have been pulling in unicorn-level amounts.
Expect more of these stratospheric kinds of deals to emerge from China, contends Jenny Lee, managing partner at GGV Capital. She notes that the China market opportunity is THAT big.
Read
Forbes,
Didi's Billions.
Shanghai-based online consumer lending marketplace
China Rapid Finance rang the opening bell at NYSE on China national holiday May 1 after an IPO on Friday that raised $60 million. CEO
Zang Wang described the market opportunity in China: 500 million in the emerging middle class who do not have access to bank credit. CRF connects borrowers with lenders, taking a fee. The company has served 2 million borrowers and provided 15 million lenders.
China tech giant
Tencent has funded fintech startup
Airwallex in Melbourne. The $17 million financing included
Sequoia Capital China and
MasterCard.
Cyberport has made its first investment since launching a $26 million fund to invest in early stage startups.
Lynk, a startup formed by Peggy Choi that connects experts for knowledge sharing online, got the financing nod after being incubated at Cyberport.
An investment arm of the
Times Group in India has invested $6 million in a Series A for Hong Kong-based startup
Oddup, which provides data and analysis of startup financings. Other investors include
Click Ventures and
500 Startups.
Netflix content has entered China through a licensing deal with the video portal service
IQiyi, run by
Baidu, a stepping stone to expansion of its brand in the country.
TAIWAN
Online media startup
The News Lens has raised $2 million Series B round that was lead invested by
Wiskey Capital along with prior investor
North Base Media as well as VC investors
Walden International, Trinity Investment and
Angelvest.
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