China VC Weekly: Biggest Series A in Chip Industry, Big Data, Robots and AI

Big data services provider DataStory completes a $17 million B+ round

DataStory, a Chinese provider of big data and AI services, announced that it has raised a 120 million yuan ($17 million) series B+ round of strategic financing jointly led by Guangzhou Shengsong Asset Management and market research firm Ipsos. This round of financing will be mainly used for business development, AI technology investments and cooperation with third-party data companies.

According to Dr. Xu Yabo, founder and CEO of DataStory, this round of financing will also be used for research and development investment in the field of AI and other fields such as NLP and knowledge graphs, as well as the development of digital platforms. In addition, DataStory will continue to strengthen its relationship with third-party data partners, using data to provide business support for enterprises.

DataStory’s goal is to expand from the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry to durable consumer goods and services. Previously, the company’s business was mainly concentrated in industries such as food and beverage, daily use cosmetics, and maternal and infant retail. Going forward, the company will focus on areas such as automobiles and home appliances.

About DataStory

Established in 2015, DataStory is a service provider that assists companies in digitizing their businesses. The solutions they provide include everything from data collection, processing, analysis, and modeling to commercial applications. Since its establishment five years ago, DataStory has served more than 200 corporate customers including Tencent, Huawei, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Watsons, etc., spanning industries like FMCG, retail, technology, Internet, beauty and others.

Chip producer Biren Technology raises largest Series A round in recent chip industry history

Biren Technology, a nine-month-old general-purpose smart chip design company, recently announced that it has completed a 1.1 billion Series A financing round, setting a new record for Series A rounds in its industry in the “post-epidemic era.”

The investment round was led by Qiming Venture partners, IDG Capital, Walden International China Fund, and other prominent investors. It is reported that the proceeds of the round will be used to accelerate technological product development and market expansion.

About Biren Technology

Biren Technology was established in September 2019. Publicly available industrial and commercial information shows that Bicheng Technology is mainly focusing on developing original general computing systems, establishing an efficient software and hardware platform, and providing chip products and general intelligent computing one-stop solutions. The company has abundant technical expertise in areas such as GPU and DSA.

Cloud computing firm Qiniu bags 1 billion yuan in Series F round

Qiniu.com, a third-party independent cloud computing and data service provider, recently announced the completion of its Series F round worth roughly 1 billion yuan. This round of financing was led by the Chinese State-owned Enterprise Structural Adjustment Fund, with BOCOM International and Hongzhao Fund also contributing. Earlier, the company had raised more than 1 billion yuan in Series E financing from Alibaba and Yunfeng Capital. This round of financing will be mainly used for research and development and innovation of core technologies, implementation of multi-scenario solutions, and market expansion.

So far, more than 1 million corporate customers and developers have used Qiniu Cloud’s cloud and data services, including OPPO, Bilibili, iQiyi, Ping An Bank, China Merchants Bank and other well-known enterprises. Cloud data intelligence is mainly used in data-heavy industries such as mobile Internet, finance, automobiles, and manufacturing. In the future, the company plans to integrate its existing expertise and industrial capabilities of partners to build a data ecosystem and provide more value to customers.

About Qiniu

Qiniu was established in 2011 with its business model revolving around cloud computing and data services. In nearly 10 years, Qiniu Cloud has established a unified database, created a video cloud service and video data analysis platform, and a simple and open machine data processing platform.

Logistics robot maker Geek+ reveals a $200 million round raised in early 2020

Robotics company Geek+ announced that it had completed a C2 round of financing in early 2020, led by China V Fund, and joined by Redview Capital and Vertex Ventures. The total amount of financing reached $200 million.

At this year’s 4th Smart Factory Exhibition in Japan, Geek+ exhibited the M1000R Jizhijia handling robot and SLAM laser navigation unmanned forklift products that are used in the Nike factory in Japan.

According to data provided by the company, more than 10,000 AMR robots have been deployed so far, serving nearly 300 global enterprises such as Nike, Decathlon, Wal-Mart, Toyota, Suning, DHL, etc., and distributed in more than 20 countries and regions around the world.

About Geek+

Geek+ is an intelligent robot company established in 2015, focusing on the field of warehousing and logistics, providing flexible and intelligent logistics automation solutions through robot products and artificial intelligence technology. Its main business is logistics robots, as well as smart factory and unmanned warehouse solution services.