Chinese Biotech Power Draws $100M From Who’s Who VCs
CEO and former VC Samantha Du
Biopharmaceutical startup Zai Lab, well positioned in China’s fast advancing biotech market, has raised a $100 million, Series A investment led by Advantech Capital, a parallel fund from New Horizon Capital, with participation from OrbiMed in San Francisco and existing investors.
Earlier backers for the Shanghai-based startup founded in 2013 by CEO Samantha Du, a former managing director for Sequoia Capital China responsible for healthcare investments, include Qiming Ventures, Sequoia Capital China and Chinese healthcare VC firm TF Capital. Zai Lab also has funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers.
Fast-growing app store Aptoide, based in Portugal with operations in Singapore and Shenzhen, has raised $4 million in a Series A deal led by e.ventures with Gobi Ventures, Golden Gate Ventures and seed round investor Portugal Ventures participating. Aptoide plans to funnel the money toward expansion in mobile-heavy markets in Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Softbank Ventures Korea has led a $10 million, first round investment in MyMusicTaste, a crowdsourcing platform in Seoul meant to gauge concert demand. Other investors include Formation 8, Samsung Ventures Investment and DT Capital.
SAIF Partners has put a reported $12 million investment in an online psychological counseling service, OneXinli in Guangzhou. The first round financing also drew Northern Light Venture Capital. The startup founded in 2011 offers counseling over podcasts and mobile apps.
TripAdvisor-like website Qyer has raised nearly $60 million from Chinese travel company Utour with SIG China participating. Founded in 2004, Qyer has attracted big names as supporters: Alibaba made a strategic investment in Qyer in 2013 and AirBBN inked a partnership with the travel site in2014. Qyer is competing in the increasingly crowded space of China’s emerging companies going after growing demand for outbound tourism in China.
DEALS
In an uncommon China-U.S. divestment, Alibaba-invested mobile gaming company Kabam in San Francisco has sold several of its mobile titles to Beijing-based interactive entertainment and gaming company Gaea Mobile. Kabam has been paring down its business to concentrate on bigger name global games such as Marvel Contest of Champions.
In a rare pairing of Chinese and Indian companies, Ctrip.com International is strategically investing $180 million in India’s largest online travel company MakeMyTrip, via convertible bonds. Under the deal, Ctrip could acquire shares of NASDAQ-list MakeMyTrip in the open market, owning up to 26.6% of its outstanding shares. The transaction gives Ctrip the right to appoint a board director to MakeMyTrip.
