4 Companies Raise Nearly 2 Billion RMB in Total | FreeS Family Funding News · Vol 8
Walk alongside more outstanding founders.
The "FreeS Family Funding News" column regularly publishes funding updates from FreeS Fund portfolio companies. In addition to new investments, follow-on rounds for existing portfolio companies are also included. Together, we witness every step of innovative companies' journeys from 0 to 1, 1 to 10, and 10 to 100.
This edition at a glance:
- Tech & Deep Tech: FreeS angel-round portfolio company Shangyue Technology announced a RMB 150 million Series B+ round.
- Biotech & Healthcare: FreeS angel-round portfolio company Bluepha announced the completion of its Series B3 round, bringing total Series B funding to RMB 1.5 billion; FreeS angel-round portfolio company Shize Biotech announced a nearly RMB 100 million Pre-A+ round.
- Consumer & TMT: Fresh良品 received exclusive angel investment from FreeS Fund.
(This summary covers funding information publicly disclosed between December 2021 and January 2022, sorted by announcement date.)
FreeS angel-round portfolio company Shangyue Technology announced the completion of a RMB 150 million Series B+ round, led by the Shanghai AI Industry Fund managed by Shanghai Lingang Science and Technology Investment Management Co., Ltd., with participation from Hanergy PE and existing shareholders Qiming Venture Partners, SIE Industry Fund, and Zhiyi Capital.
**/ What Investors Say / **
From an industry development perspective, online collaboration tools within and between enterprises will inevitably capture growing market share. In this high-potential sector, the Shangyue Technology team has demonstrated exceptional execution capabilities — their commercial, product, and management capabilities have all exceeded expectations. We believe they are well-positioned to seize the historic opportunity in procurement digitization.
**/ Company Profile / **
Founded in late 2018, Shangyue Technology is an enterprise digital procurement solutions provider. Its procurement digitization product suite employs a leading cloud-native architecture, organized around four core business workflows: self-service procurement, non-catalog contract procurement, non-catalog sourcing procurement, and procurement planning. The eight integrated products cover mall-based procurement, procurement execution collaboration, sourcing procurement, supplier management, procurement contract management, procurement intelligence, the Juxiange open platform, and the Qianjige PaaS platform — supporting end-to-end, all-category, all-scenario, full-function, and all-procurement-organization-model enterprise non-production procurement.
To date, Shangyue Technology has served over 100 large and medium-sized enterprise clients across 20 industries including internet, finance and insurance, real estate and property management, automotive, energy, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, electronics and electrical appliances — including KE Holdings, Great Wall Motor, OPPO, Joyoung, FAW, SANY Heavy Industry, Mindray, AIA, Wanwu Capital, Tsingtao Brewery, Changan Ford, and Yadea. (Full coverage: Enterprise Procurement SaaS Leader "Shangyue Technology" Announces RMB 150 Million Series B+ Round to Further Enhance Procurement Digitization Capabilities)
FreeS angel-round portfolio company Bluepha announced the completion of its Series B3 round, bringing total Series B funding to RMB 1.5 billion. FreeS Fund continued to participate in the round.
**/ What Investors Say / **
Review FreeS Fund partner Ma Rui's previous investment thesis on Bluepha — click to watch 👆
First, congratulations to Bluepha on completing its Series B3 round led by multiple prestigious investment institutions, including recognition from state-backed funds. This brings Bluepha's total Series B funding to RMB 1.5 billion.
Bluepha was a FreeS angel-round investment, and FreeS Fund has participated in all seven subsequent rounds because we believe in synthetic biology and in the greener, healthier, and more powerful products that biotechnology can deliver. Over five years, Bluepha has grown into a domestic leader in the synthetic biology track.
Bluepha's first proprietary pipeline — the industrialization of fully biodegradable PHA material — has begun construction in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province. Yancheng, known as China's "offshore wind power capital," offers comprehensive supporting infrastructure and specialized expertise that will help Bluepha realize its "biosynthesis + clean energy" vision.
The project has a planned total capacity of 100,000 tons, to be built in three phases. The Phase I production line with annual capacity of 5,000 tons will be completed and operational within 2022. Additionally, Bluepha is expanding and upgrading its digital-native R&D platform CloudLab1, which encompasses flexible automated experimental systems, ultra-high-throughput fermentation systems, and intelligent cloud-based data systems. Based on CloudLab1, Bluepha expects to reduce the full R&D cycle for subsequent product pipelines by another 70%.
Congratulations again on this new round. The Series B funding will enable the company to simultaneously advance three priorities: establishing a 10,000-ton-scale proprietary factory, building the CloudLab1 super-platform, and maintaining high-level R&D investment — taking a critical step toward achieving technology and product closure. Bluepha has chosen the difficult but correct path of delivering great products and building a great platform, and FreeS will continue to support and accompany its growth.
**/ Company Profile / **
Bluepha co-founder & CEO Haotian Zhang on why synthetic biology represents the next 20 years of bio-engineering — click to watch 👆
Bluepha was founded in 2016 by Peking University PhD Haotian Zhang and Tsinghua University PhD Teng Li. The company leverages synthetic biology to drive molecular and material innovation, designing, developing, manufacturing, and selling novel bio-based molecules and materials that help B2B customers across consumer goods, food, healthcare, agriculture, and industrial sectors achieve differentiated competition.
On January 1, 2022, Bluepha broke ground on its first product pipeline — a 25,000-ton annual capacity PHA "super-factory" in Binhai County, Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province. Bluepha has accumulated extensive technical capabilities and IP across the entire PHA value chain including strain R&D, bioconversion, separation and purification, and material modification. Its product performance has been validated by multiple Fortune 500 clients, with orders and letters of intent already secured; the company has also signed strategic partnership agreements with partners across major global markets to continuously expand PHA's worldwide presence. (Full coverage: Bluepha Completes RMB 1.5 Billion Total Series B Funding, Accelerating "T-Strategy" Implementation)
FreeS angel-round portfolio company Shize Biotech announced the completion of a nearly RMB 100 million Pre-A+ round, led by HSG with Lilly Asia Ventures and Qiming Venture Partners as co-investors.
**/ What Investors Say / **
In recent years, the boom in biotech innovation has brought many human diseases within reach of treatment, yet neurodegenerative diseases have seen few major breakthroughs. These conditions involve complex causes and long, insidious disease courses, making them largely unresponsive to conventional drugs. As a result, massive unmet clinical needs persist in this market. The combination of induced stem cells and gene editing technology offers new possibilities for tackling these degenerative diseases. We are optimistic about Shize Biotech's exploration of scalable, high-quality, low-cost cell therapies, and are committed to continuing to support and accompany its growth.
**/ Company Profile / **
After more than a decade of dedicated work at renowned stem cell research institutions and leading international cell therapy companies at home and abroad, Dr. Xiang Li launched Shize Biotech in 2021 as founder, CEO, and CSO, bringing together Dr. Xiao, Dr. Yan, Mr. Qiu, and gathering Dr. Chen, Dr. Huang, Dr. Zhu, and Ms. Yao — accomplished scientists and industry experts. The company now has nearly 60 full-time employees, including 10 PhDs/postdocs and over 65% with master's degrees or higher.
Under Dr. Li's leadership, Shize Biotech has independently designed and completed a 1,600 m² R&D center and is currently building a 3,500 m² manufacturing and translation facility. The team has established key technology platforms for iPS cell line reprogramming, iPSC gene editing, and iPSC-directed differentiation into various neural subtypes, developed animal models for evaluating cell drug safety and efficacy in Parkinson's disease, and filed related patents. (Full coverage: HSG Leads, Lilly Asia Ventures and Qiming Venture Partners Co-Invest in Shize Biotech's Nearly RMB 100 Million Pre-A+ Round)
Children's fresh food brand Weixian Liangpin received angel funding from FreeS Fund.
**/ What Investors Say / **
As a new generation of parents emerges and young people's lives accelerate, children's convenient fresh food represents a highly promising segment. Currently, few companies possess the comprehensive capabilities to enter this space. The Weixian Liangpin team consists largely of seasoned fresh food supply chain professionals whose years of industry experience give them superior expertise in ingredient selection, supply chain management, and food safety control. We look forward to Weixian Liangpin bringing healthier, more convenient solutions to young parents.
**/ Company Profile / **
Founded in 2021, Weixian Liangpin is a brand focused on children's healthy fresh food products. Starting with deep-sea fish and seafood ingredients such as salmon, cod, and tuna, the brand leverages professional processing standards and fresh food supply chain capabilities to provide fresh, healthy semi-prepared children's meals for post-80s and post-90s parents and families — ensuring balanced nutrition for children while creating a more convenient lifestyle for mothers. Beyond multi-channel online sales, the brand will also enter major supermarkets nationwide.
The founding team comprises former core members of the well-known cold chain logistics company Jiuye Supply Chain and a veteran Qingdao-based deep-sea seafood team, joined by Chinese, Western, and Japanese culinary development experts and Ogilvy brand planning specialists. The team has core capabilities including global direct sourcing from fresh food origins, nationwide self-built cold chain experience, and professional seafood processing facilities. (Full coverage: Children's Fresh Food Brand "Weixian Liangpin" Receives Tens of Millions in Angel Funding, Focused on 3-12 Year Old Market)
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