Since 2020, China's enterprise services, or SaaS, industry has witnessed explosive growth, fueled by demands for cloud-based services during the pandemic and the wave of digitalization. Covering a wide range of application scenarios including office software, CAD software, virtualization, accounting, CRM, ERM and so on, Chinese SaaS companies continue to attract investment from far and wide.
The market size of China’s SaaS industry reached CNY 32.26 billion (USD 5.08 billion) in 2021 and will surge to an estimated CNY 55.51 billion in two years, Chinese consultancy iiMedia Research reported.
For SaaS, we at EqualOcean have identified 20 companies worth watching in Q1. The core criterion is to receive venture capital investments of over USD 30 million on average or the equivalent value in CNY in a single round. When compiling the list, we also considered factors such as growth prospects, brand influences and reputation, as well as planned expansions.
From SMEs about to make their mark in the market, to well-established companies that have already raised significant funds and are still seeking further capital injections, here's a list you won't want to miss.
Shoplazza
Shenzhen-based Shoplazza (Chinese: 店匠科技) closed its USD 150 million Series C financing round on January 20 led by Softbank Vision Fund 2. Global top-tier investors Sequoia Capital China and Sky9 Capital also took part in the round, joined by new investors Chimera and Stepstone. Founded in 2017, the company aims to help global merchants build B2C e-commerce stores.
Fenbeitong
Chinese corporate spend start-up Fenbeitong (Chinese: 分贝通) raised USD 140 million in a Series C+ funding round on February 17 led by DST Global. It roped in new investors like D1 Capital Partners, WhaleRock, and Saudi Aramco’s P7 Ventures besides existing investors including Hillhouse Capital and Ribbit Capital, bringing the total amount raised to USD 300 million.
Dianxiaomi
Dianxiaomi (Chinese: 店小秘) announced the completion of its Series C funding round worth USD 100 million on March 1. The investment was jointly led by Tiger Global Management and Huaxing Growth Capital; other popular investment institutions including GGV Capital and Gaorong Capital also poured money into the deal. Founded in 2014, this Shenzhen-based company provides free cross-border e-commerce ERP systems.
Sobot
Sobot (Chinese: 智齿科技), a Beijing-based customer service software provider founded in 2014, received its Series D funding round of USD 100 million on February 14, led by Softbank Vision Fund 2. Other investors include GL Ventures, Yunqi Partners, and Mirae Asset Global Investments. This smart service technology platform aims to provide enterprise customer service applications based on AI technology.
Xisoft
Xisoft (Chinese: 熙软科技) announced on March 4 the completion of its Series B funding round worth over CNY 100 million. This round was led by Taikang Life Insurance, with participation by Sequoia Capital China, Gaorong Capital, and Everest Venture Capital. Established in 2018, Xisoft is an information and data service provider in the field of health economic management.
Haizhi Wangju
Chinese data analytics provider Haizhi Wangju Internet Technology (Chinese: 海致科技) completed its CNY 500 million Series D financing round on February 17. The lead investor is China Internet Investment Fund, joined by GL Ventures, Yichen Capital, Legend Capital, and four other investors. The Beijing-based company has cooperated with China’s top university Tsinghua to offer graph processing services.
Taichi Graphics
Taichi Graphics (Chinese: 太极图形) secured USD 50 million in its Series A funding round on February 7. The investment was jointly led by GGV Capital, Bertelsmann Asia Investments, and Source Code Capital. Existing investor Sequoia Capital China also took part in the round. This 3D content collaboration startup aims to build open-source graphics infrastructure and cloud platforms.
Weisheng Network
Weisheng Network (Chinese: 微盛网络), an information technology service provider, closed its CNY 300 million Series B funding round on February 21. This round was led by IDG Capital and joined by ZWC Partners. Founded in 2015, the company provides system integration and maintenance, computer data processing and storage, and other services, claiming that it has served more than 150,000 enterprises.
Guandata
Chinese business intelligence solutions provider Guandata (Chinese: 观远科技) announced on February 22 the completion of its CNY 280 million Series C financing round. Led by Tiger Global Management, this round is also participated by Sequoia Capital China, Xianghe Capital, Unicorn Capital Partners, and Linear Venture. The company is established in 2016, aiming to provide a next-generation data analytics platform in the retail industry.
Jiuchi Network Technology
Jiuchi Network Technology (Chinese: 久尺网络科技) , a Shanghai-based remote control software startup, raised CNY 250 million on January 5 in its angel round. Investors include Gaorong Capital, Sky9 Capital, and NBT Capital under Joyy. Jiuchi acquired network technology firm ToDesk in July 2021. The fund raised will be used to improve the computing power to cover more application scenarios.
Uwintech
Shenzhen-based IT operation and maintenance company Uwintech (Chinese: 优维科技) received its Series C funding of CNY 180 million on February 8 led by GL Ventures. SIG Asia Investments and Eight Roads Ventures also participated in the investment. Founded in 2015, the company aims to provide one-stop solutions based on development and operations (DevOps) concepts. Uwintech’s notable clients include Chinese smartphone giant OPPO and the country’s largest digital marketing firm BlueFocus (300058).
Tianyu Healthcare
Tianyu Healthcare (Chinese: 天与养老) completed its USD 20 million Series A+ funding round on February 28. Long Hill Capital led this round; existing investors Hillhouse Capital and Zoo Capital also participated in the investment, newly joined by Eastern Bell Capital. The Shanghai-headquartered company targets elderly care programs through the application of big data, cloud computing, Internet of Things, and AI technology.
Yesmro
Yesmro (Chinese: 易买工品), a Shanghai-based e-commerce platform for maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) of industrial consumer goods, closed its Series C round bagging over USD 10 million on January 24. This round was led by Anchor Equity Partners, followed by Broad River Capital, Gaorong Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, Shunwei Capital, Matrix Partners, and Chinese delivery giant Meituan’s (3690: HK) former COO Gan Jiawei.
Qmai.cn
Qmai.cn (Chinese: 企迈科技) garnered tens of millions of dollars in its Series C financing round on February 28. The lead investor is Gaocheng Capital, followed by GL Ventures and Shunwei Capital. Established in 2009, the operation solution provider enables retailers and chain store operators to connect with users and digitalize operations.
Shexu Technology
Shexu Technology (Chinese: 设序科技), a Shanghai-based AI industry SaaS software provider, completed its CNY 100 million Series A funding round on February 23. This round is led by ByteDance, followed by Gaorong Capital, SIG Asia Investments, K2VC, and Lenovo Capital. The technology startup is founded in 2020and develops automatic industrial design software products based on an AI computing engine.
Shanghai Seer Intelligent Technology Corporation (SEER)
Shanghai Seer Intelligent Technology Corporation (SEER) (Chinese: 仙工智能) raised hundreds of millions of CNY in its Series B funding round on February 14 from existing investor IDG Capital, joined by new investors SAIF Partners and Broadstream Capital. Established in 2020, the mobile robot producer specializes in intelligent manufacturing and smart logistics and provides controller, AMR, logistics digitalization, and visual AI solutions.
Xmirror
Xmirror (Chinese: 悬镜安全) announced on March 22 the completion of its Series B financing round worth hundreds of millions of CNY. Led by Source Code Capital, this round is also backed by Sequoia Capital China and GGV Capital. The enterprise is a provider of development, security, and operations (DevSecOps) products for software, with clients from various industries such as finance, cloud services, government affairs, and transportation.
Jigongjia
Jigongjia (Chinese: 吉工家) gathered over CNY 100 million in its Series B financing round on March 9, jointly led by GL Ventures and Sequoia Capital China. Yuanhe Capital served as the exclusive financial adviser, as per a company statement. Founded in 2014, the company provides online services for construction and labor employment management.
Wuxi Xinxiang
Wuxi Xinxiang (Chinese: 无锡芯享) secured several hundred million CNY in its Series A+ funding round on March 4. The investment is led by Bohai Industrial Investment Fund Management, followed by South China Venture Capital, Guolian Xinchuang, and Fangdao Fund. Existing backers Sequoia Capital China, Hillhouse Capital, and Walden International also topped up. Established in 2018, Wuxi Xinxiang provides computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) systems for semiconductor factories with a focus on intelligent manufacturing of software services.
Xinlue Shuzhi
Consumer digital operation solution provider Xinlue Shuzhi (Chinese: 新略数智) raised an undisclosed amount in its Series A round from Sequoia China Capital, GL Ventures, and Vision Plus Capital, completing three rounds of financing for over CNY 100 million within a year. The startup helps brands to build a Marketing Data Platform (MDP) and manage consumer data assets. The corpus raised will be used for market expansion and product innovation.