Fundraising, Licensing, New Launches, Team Building, Awards… 15 Notable Events from an April to Remember | FreeS Fund Blackboard · April
Look ahead, keep doing.
FreeS Fund's April newsletter — sharing the latest updates with our long-term friends and supporters:
- FreeS Fund led the multi-million-dollar Pre-A round for Cobo Wallet.
- FreeS Fund invested in Pro-Health, continuing its push into biotech and healthcare.
- FreeS Fund continued its investment in DataPipeline's Series A round.
- FreeS Fund continued its investment in maternal and child export e-commerce platform PatPat's Series C round.
- FreeS Fund team retreat in Dali — working hard, playing hard.
- FreeS Fund won two awards: "ChinaVenture 2017 Top 100 Best VC Firms in China" and "ChinaVenture 2017 Top 50 Best Foreign VC Firms in China."
We're also sharing good news from the FreeS family:
- Deep Tech: IceKredit completed its Pre-B round; Yifei Intelligent Control completed its Series A, winning recognition from state capital and industry giants; Yoohero completed its A+ round; QingTao's new lithium battery ceramic materials industrialization project landed in Xuyi; SoundAI Technology shipped over 10,000 microphone array chips in its first month.
- Consumer: Three Squirrels launched 27-day short-shelf-life products and released its animated series; Huasheng Haoche received the nation's first electronic business license; Xinliangji completed capital integration with Baolong Group and Like Chuyu Group; Teasoon launched two energy drinks, the Black Can and White Can.
As a young fund, FreeS Fund will continue to stay grounded and push forward, always looking forward to meeting innovation and the extraordinary.
FreeS News
1
FreeS Fund led the multi-million-dollar Pre-A round for Cobo Wallet
On April 18, Cobo Wallet announced the completion of its multi-million-dollar Pre-A round, co-led by FreeS Fund and Linear Capital. The funding will be used for technology development, ecosystem application deployment, and team expansion.
Cobo Wallet was founded in late 2017 by Discus Fish (Shen Yu) and Changhao Jiang. Discus Fish, whose real name is Maoshixing, also known as "Colorful Fairy Discus Fish," is the founder of F2Pool, the world's largest comprehensive mining pool. Currently, F2Pool ranks in the global top five for Bitcoin hashrate, first globally for Ethereum, first globally for Litecoin, and second globally for ZEC. After losing over 8,000 Ethereum to an automated coin theft attack, Discus Fish resolved to develop his own blockchain wallet. He teamed up with former Facebook senior research scientist and former Bihang founder Changhao Jiang, and Cobo Wallet was born.
Cobo Wallet is building a digital asset ecosystem through secure asset storage, asset yield enhancement, DApp ecosystem applications, and future asset service solutions. (See: 8BTC, "Cobo Wallet Receives Multi-Million-Dollar Pre-A Investment from Linear Capital and FreeS Fund")
2
FreeS Fund invests in Pro-Health, continuing its push into biotech and healthcare
Three-year-old Pro-Health (Kayoude Medical Laboratory) recently announced its split from parent company Kayoude Biotech (Beijing) to operate as an independent entity, completing a multi-million-yuan Pre-A round co-invested by FreeS Fund and Lianli Capital.
Following this round, Pro-Health will focus on women's and children's precision health services in the microbial genomics space within the broader wellness sector. The company will build around three pillars: women's and children's precision medical products, physician services, and preterm birth education with telemedicine. Through medical testing and remote physician diagnosis, AI and big data, and probiotic product solutions, Pro-Health aims to complete its precision health service loop for women and children. (See: Arterial Network, "Pro-Health Splits from Kayoude Biotech, Completes Multi-Million-Yuan Pre-A Round")
3
FreeS Fund continues investment in DataPipeline's Series A round
DataPipeline recently announced a 21 million yuan Series A round led by Matrix Partners China, with existing investor FreeS Fund from its angel round continuing to participate.
Over its two years of operation, DataPipeline has focused on providing one-stop data and application integration platforms and solutions, successfully serving several large clients including Fortune 500 companies across retail, manufacturing, banking, energy, and internet sectors. The company has also established strategic partnerships with dozens of upstream and downstream industry players.
4
FreeS Fund continues investment in maternal and child export e-commerce platform PatPat's Series C round
Maternal and child export e-commerce platform PatPat has completed a 300 million yuan Series C round led by HSG, with existing investor FreeS Fund from its A+ round continuing to invest. The funding will primarily be used for brand building and supply chain strengthening, while further increasing support for domestic suppliers and designers.
Founded in 2014, PatPat is a B2C export e-commerce platform focused on maternal and child products, targeting white mothers aged 20-35 in the middle class of Europe and America with annual household incomes between $30,000 and $90,000.
PatPat currently works with over 800 suppliers, with top KA merchants reportedly achieving annual sales in the tens of millions. The team stated that in 2018, beyond further building its front-end brand, PatPat will focus on strengthening supply chain integration and increasing support for outstanding domestic designers to help more great Chinese design go global. (See: 36Kr, "Maternal and Child Export E-Commerce 'PatPat' Raises 300 Million Yuan Series C, Led by HSG with IDG Capital and Other Existing Investors")
5
FreeS Fund team retreat in Dali — working hard, playing hard
After a day of intense industry research presentations — on new trends in beauty, computer-aided drug design, and market analysis of accommodation space operations — we boarded a plane to Dali, Yunnan, and spent four leisurely days living like locals.
Colleagues explored the ancient town together, cycled around Erhai Lake, experienced Bai ethnic tie-dyeing, watching white cotton handkerchiefs transform in indigo vats. In gentle breezes and light rain, we listened to local musicians play natural instruments. We visited ancient Bai residences, where a foreign owner shared his passion for Chinese architectural culture and his practice of restoring and protecting ancient homes...
Most importantly, we got to know our everyday colleagues anew — we became "familiar strangers." A phrase we often heard those days: "So that's who you really are." Feng Shu (Li Feng) said he hoped everyone could be happy and grow together.
6
FreeS Fund award news
▍FreeS Fund wins "ChinaVenture 2017 Top 100 Best VC Firms in China" and "ChinaVenture 2017 Top 50 Best Foreign VC Firms in China"
On April 24, ChinaVenture officially released its "ChinaVenture 2017 Annual Rankings." ChinaVenture has long been dedicated to identifying China's outstanding investment institutions. This year marks over a decade of the "ChinaVenture Rankings."
The ChinaVenture 2017 Annual Rankings for Chinese Venture Capital and Private Equity Institutions are produced by the ChinaVenture Research Institute, relying on ChinaVenture's research capabilities and robust data systems. Through questionnaire surveys, interviews, data verification, and aggregation, with standardized data processing by the Research Institute and overall points-based ranking, the list represents the industry's most authoritative, comprehensive, and objective benchmark.
In this year's rankings, FreeS Fund received two major awards: Top 100 Best VC Firms in China and Top 50 Best Foreign VC Firms in China. (See: ChinaVenture, "ChinaVenture 2017 Investment Institution Rankings Released")
FreeS Perspectives
▍Li Feng: Almost all the biggest business models are about distribution and connection after data goes online
At the GMIC 2018 "AI Empowers Everything" summit, Li Feng shared FreeS's investment logic for IoT.
In his view, since the internet era began, almost all the biggest business models have essentially been about distribution and connection after data goes online. For example, once phones had positioning systems, DiDi could online-ize passengers' ride requests alongside drivers' locations and routes.
"When investing in IoT, we first look at which sensors can improve and whether they can be installed everywhere. On that foundation, if the underlying layer is weak, we invest in the underlying layer and chips first. If the underlying layer is fine but applications are weak, we invest in applications. If vertical solutions exist, we look for horizontal ones — like data processing and data connection business models."
▍Li Feng: Key factors determining how big a technology project can become
At the 12th Annual China Investment Summit hosted by ChinaVenture, Li Feng said that when people invest in technology, they generally discuss two questions. The first: how far is the gap from technology to product or application? The second: the choice entrepreneurs commonly face — do you take technology and find applications for it, or take applications and find technology for them? Looking at how different technology companies grow, their eventual application-layer deployment and how many links they grow in the industry chain ultimately determines how big a project starting from a technology gene can become.
FreeS Family Updates
1
Deep Tech | IceKredit completes Pre-B round
On April 8, 2018, IceKredit Group announced the completion of a 100-million-yuan-plus Pre-B round. IceKredit is a big data-based credit assessment service provider, starting from small and micro enterprise credit assessment and now covering both personal and enterprise credit assessment.
When IceKredit Group was founded in 2015, it received an angel round led by FreeS Fund. Over the past two-plus years, FreeS has witnessed IceKredit gain repeated capital recognition and win clients including UnionPay, Taizhou Bank, Bank of Nanjing, Suning Bank, MaShang Consumer Finance, BOC Consumer Finance, NetEase Microloans, Fullerton Microloans, ZhongAn Insurance, and Wacai. (See: PEDaily, "Big Data Risk Control Platform IceKredit Group Completes Pre-B Round, Focusing on Enterprise Credit")
2
Deep Tech | Yifei Intelligent Control completes Series A, winning recognition from state capital and industry giants
On April 9, 2018, drone solutions provider Yifei Intelligent Control announced the completion of a nearly 100-million-yuan Series A round led by AVIC.
Founded in 2015, Yifei previously received FreeS Fund's Pre-A round and Fenghou Capital's angel round. Over two-plus years, Yifei's technology and products have been validated in agriculture and logistics transportation. The company continues to expand its boundaries, now targeting unmanned retrofitting of manned aircraft. (See: "Yifei Intelligent Control Receives Nearly 100 Million Yuan Series A Led by AVIC, Providing Helicopter Unmanned Retrofitting Solutions for Commercial Clients")
3
Deep Tech | Yoohero raises tens of millions of yuan in A+ round
Yoohero recently completed a tens-of-millions-yuan A+ round from Aoyin Capital. As early as 2015, FreeS Fund participated in Yoohero's angel round.
Yoohero provides A/B testing cloud services for enterprises, deployable on internal servers and private clouds, significantly reducing companies' own development costs. Currently, Yoohero has over 1,000 paying enterprise clients, with 8,000+ experiments run cumulatively, serving clients including Microsoft, China Mobile, New Oriental, Mobike, HUPU, and Ping An Securities. (See: NewSeed, "A/B Testing Enterprise Service Market Matures, 'Yoohero' Raises Tens of Millions in A+ Round")
4
Deep Tech | QingTao's new lithium battery ceramic materials industrialization project lands in Xuyi
On the morning of April 20, witnessed by leaders including Chinese Academy of Sciences academician Nan Cewen, Huai'an Mayor Cai Lixin, Huai'an Municipal Committee Standing Committee member and Organization Department head Li Wei, Xuyi County Party Secretary Liang Sanyuan, County Mayor Zhu Haibo, County Organization Department head Gu Qiang, and Deputy County Mayor Zhang Wenfeng, QingTao's new project set sail again from Xuyi — the QingTao new lithium battery ceramic materials industrialization project officially landed in Xuyi. (See: QingTao Development, "QingTao Sets Sail Again, Striving to Become a 'Unicorn' in the Lithium Battery Industry!")
5
Deep Tech | SoundAI Technology ships over 10,000 microphone array chips in first month
SoundAI Technology's SAI101C, China's first low-power microphone array chip, is now in mass production. Though launched less than a month ago, first-month pre-orders have already exceeded 20,000 units. The SAI101C's launch integrates leading far-field interaction technology with the broadcasting industry, accelerating market expansion and building a new era of human-computer interaction.
This chip is purpose-built for intelligent hardware, applicable in smart TVs/set-top boxes, smart Bluetooth/WiFi, IoT devices, intelligent robots, AR devices, and voice-interaction intelligent hardware. Currently, three major companies — Inspur, Saike Shiji, and Tongzhou Electronics — have adopted this chip to build new smart home gateways, smart TVs, and set-top box products. (See: SoundAI Technology, "Solving Low-Power Challenges, SoundAI Technology Microphone Array Chip Ships Over 10,000 in First Month")
6
Consumer | Three Squirrels launches 27-day short-shelf-life products, animated series also premieres
In early April, Three Squirrels announced the launch of 27-day short-shelf-life snack products, positioned as "extreme freshness," now available on its Tmall flagship store.
"27-day shelf life · 48-hour production · 0 added preservatives · handcrafted" — this is Three Squirrels' marketing slogan for its short-shelf-life snacks. The company states that these products begin production within two hours of customer order, are completed and shipped within 48 hours, contain no added preservatives, and emphasize handcrafting.
Also in early April, the animated series Three Squirrels, two years in the making, officially premiered on Beijing TV's Kaku Kids channel.
As early as 2016, founder Zhang Liaoyuan insisted on building an IP, using the cute Three Squirrels image to expand from snacks into clothing, bags, animation, and entertainment complexes. He stated that what he was doing wasn't mere merchandising or cultural real estate — all these moves were to "make our masters happier." (See: New Food Review, "Three Squirrels' New Moves: 27-Day Short-Shelf-Life Products, Animated Series Also Premieres")
7
Consumer | Huasheng Haoche receives nation's first electronic business license
On April 12, Huasheng Haoche subsidiary Tianjin Huasheng Haoche Auto Trading Co. appeared on CCTV-1's Xinwen Lianbo, becoming the first company in China to receive a mobile electronic business license.
Huasheng Haoche is a leading automotive new retail platform, with over 230 chain direct-operated stores across 200+ cities, 25 major distribution centers, deep penetration into tier-3, -4, and -5 markets, and full lifecycle automotive services for over 100,000 customers.
Receiving the nation's first electronic business license signifies Huasheng Haoche's outstanding achievements in automotive consumption and services, earning high recognition from national government authorities. Making it easy for everyone to own a car has become Huasheng Haoche's service mission. (See: Huasheng Haoche Mall, "Huasheng Haoche Featured on CCTV's Xinwen Lianbo, Receives Nation's First Electronic Business License")
8
Consumer | Xinliangji completes capital integration with Baolong Group and Like Chuyu Group
Xinliangji recently announced the completion of capital integration with Jiangsu Baolong Group and Hubei Like Chuyu Group.
Founded in 2016, Xinliangji is a food supply chain enterprise centered on providing standardized solutions for Chinese restaurant hit dishes. With 33 years of history, Baolong Group is China's longest-standing, most technologically advanced, and most standardized state key agricultural industrialization leading enterprise in the crayfish industry. Like Chuyu Group is currently China's leading crayfish enterprise with the broadest breeding bases, largest processing output, most foreign exchange earnings, most complete sales channels, and strongest innovation capabilities.
This three-party capital integration will help standardize China's crayfish market, forming a high-quality industry with international standardized management, and driving the crayfish industry to develop at a higher and deeper level. (See: China.com Investment, "Xinliangji Completes Capital Integration with Baolong Group and Like Chuyu Group")
9
Consumer | Teasoon launches Black Can and White Can energy drinks
Targeting its core demographic of white-collar professionals, tea chain Teasoon launched new breakfast products for office workers, while also releasing two ready-to-drink energy drinks positioned for the mid-to-high-end market — the Black Can and White Can, focusing on alertness and relaxation respectively.
The Black and White Can energy drinks represent Teasoon's second major strategic focus this year, beyond its store business. (See: FBIF, "Dialogue with CEO | Rejecting Traffic Models, Teasoon's Ambition Goes Beyond Becoming the Starbucks of Tea")
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