Investors Darlings -Top 10 China Headquartered Companies Who Raised More Than US$1B in 2019

China is a rising economic superpower and home to some of the most revolutionary startups from around the globe. In 2019, 15 China headquartered startups were able to raise more than a billion US dollars in funding. It is important to note that no other country in Asia has so many startups who were able to raise more than a billion US dollars. China is an economic powerhouse and even with the trade battles with the West has a robust economy that fuels investment, innovation, and growth.

The below table summarizes the top 15 startups, the last funding amount, and the last funding date.

Read on to know more about the top 10 companies, their offerings, founders, investors, and much more.

Gree Electric Appliance

A Chinese appliances manufacturer and a partially state-owned company having its headquarters in Zhuhai. It was established in March 1985. This company is so far the largest Air-conditioner manufacturer in China. Apart from ACs, it produces electric fans, air purifiers, geysers, etc. Recently, the company has raised an amount of 7.5 Billion US Dollars in Oct 2019 in its post IPO funding. Hillhouse Capital Group showed active participation as a leading investor of the financing. The company plans to expand its presence in the United States.

Tencent Holdings

This Chinese company was founded in the year 1998. It provides various Internet-related services and products, entertainment and technology. The company has its headquarters located in Nanshan District, Shenzhen. The company has several founders namely Charles Chen, Chenye Su, Jasen Zeng, and Pony Ma. In a recent funding round, the company has raised 6.5 Billion US $. Four investors participated in that funding round out of which the Lippo group and Prosus and Naspers were the leading ones. Tencent Holdings has a dynamic plan to expand outside its core expertise, i.e. gaming into other traditional industries.

Cainiao Logistics

A major logistics company based in China. It was launched by Alibaba Group in 2013. This company is a technology-driven logistics and infrastructure. So far, it is recognized as the largest Unicorn company in China. It has raised a fund of 3.33 Bn US $ from Alibaba, China’s largest e-commerce Giant in Nov 2019. It was a corporate funding round. Cainiao has a great vision to digitize its every activity for greater ease and smooth operations with utmost transparency.

 Kuaishou Technology

It is a social app developing company that has launched the Kuaishou app in 2011. In Dec 2019, this company raised a funding of 3 billion US dollars in series S funding round. Tencent Holdings is the primary investor in this round. Others who are investors of this company are Boyu Capital, YF capital and Temasek Holdings. The company plans to get US IPO for its expansion there.

BeiGene

This is a pharmaceutical company focusing on making drugs for cancer treatment. It was founded in 2010 and has it’s headquartered in Beijing, China. Beigene has managed to raise a fund of US$2.7B from various firms. The leading investors include Amgen, Hillhouse Capital Group and CITIC Capital Holdings. Apart from this, the company has other active investors in the list such as Rocks Spring Capital and T Rowe Price. BeiGene and Amgen will co-fund the development activities in China.

COFCO

COFCO – China Oil and Food Corporation is one of the state-owned Chinese food processing companies. It was founded in 1949 having it’s headquartered in Beijing, China. Its latest funding includes debt financing in July 2019. In this round, the company has managed to raise a fund of 2.1 Billion US Dollars. ABN Amro Bank emerged out to be the leading investor in the funding round. Other investors of the company are Boyu Capital, Baring Private Equity Asia, ING Group, etc. COFCO is planning to invest in brazil but in a very selective manner.

Huatai Insurance Group

As the name suggests, it is a leading insurance company in Beijing. It was established in the year 1996 mainly to deliver health insurance plans to all Chinese people. The firm went through the Corporate funding round in which it managed to raise a fund of 2.1 Billion US Dollars. Chubb was the sole investor in this funding. Now, apart from regular health insurance policies, the Company has made a plan of selling Property and Casualty Insurance policies.

Chehaoduo

Chehaoduo is an online car trading firm that provides buyers and sellers to interact with each other. It has its headquarters in Beijing. This second-hand car based startup has been invested by Softbank’s Vision with a fund of 1.5Bn US $ in Feb 2019 in a series D funding round. The company plans to deploy technological enhancements in the processes and also intends to improve its marketing strategies. Further, on a similar note, the company has an agenda to open the brick and mortar stores in the country.

T3 Mobile Travel Services

This company was founded in March 2019 and is also known as T3. It provides the car-sharing services, thus solves a more significant problem and eventually works on an environment-friendly vision. In March 2019, this startup has raised a fund of 9.8B CN dollars in Series A funding round. FAW Group, Suning Investment, Changan Automobile, and Dongfeng Motor Group are the leading investors in this funding round.

Tenglong Holding Group

This firm provides a globally distributed data center and in-depth customization services. It was founded in 2015. This group has raised a fund of 3.7 Bn US $ for its expansion. It announced A-round financing and the major giants such as Morgan Stanley and Chinese Nashan Group emerged out to be the core investors. Other investors who took part include Urban Development Fund, Haitong Hengxin, and Ross. The company has a plan to expand its data center portfolio.

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