Four Companies Close New Funding Rounds, Five Reach New Milestones, Plus Two Celebrations | FreeS Fund Monthly · March
Do what's right, not what's easy.
FreeS Fund Newsletter — March Edition. We wanted to share the latest updates with the friends who have followed and supported us over the long term:
- FreeS Fund continued its participation in Kolmostar's Series A round.
- MaiFei Technology closed a Series A round, with FreeS Fund continuing to follow on.
- FreeS Fund hosted its 2019 RMB Fund Annual Meeting and 2019 CEO Annual Meeting.
We're also sharing good news from the FreeS family:
- Deep Tech: Moka raised 180 million RMB in a Series B round; Zejin Financial Services closed a Series A round of tens of millions of RMB; 360 Finance released its first post-IPO earnings report; SoundAI Technology supported Huawei in launching a new set-top box; Shangyue released its intelligent procurement middle platform, formed strategic partnerships with SIE Information and Fadada, and signed with Ningbo Huaxiang Group to build a digital procurement platform for them; VTech Smart launched insurance + futures services.
- Consumer: 2:10 Animation's The Great Warrior Wall topped national TV animation ratings.
- Awards: Plant View won the Tmall Golden Beauty Award.
In 2019, FreeS Fund will continue to stay grounded and push forward, while remaining eager to explore the unknown — looking forward to constantly encountering innovation and the extraordinary.
FreeS Fund News
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FreeS Fund Continues to Follow On in Kolmostar's Series A
Positioning algorithm solutions provider Kolmostar recently announced the completion of a $10 million Series A round, led by ABI Capital, with FreeS Fund, Eastern Bell Capital, Star VC, and Tsinghua Holdings National Innovation following on. The proceeds will primarily be used to expand R&D teams in China and the US, and to launch GNSS positioning solutions tailored to different application scenarios.
Founded in 2016, Kolmostar has R&D centers in Beijing and Silicon Valley, and previously received angel funding from FreeS Fund, followed by a Pre-A round from FreeS Fund and Eastern Bell Capital. The company's core business is built on GNSS signal processing systems, delivering low-cost, low-power (milliwatt-level), high-precision (centimeter-level) indoor and outdoor positioning solutions through a chip + software + cloud services model. Its solutions are primarily applied in IoT, mobile wearables, smartphones, and autonomous driving. (Full coverage: [FreeS Fund] Angel portfolio company Kolmostar closes $10M Series A | FreeS Funding News)
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MaiFei Technology Closes Series A, FreeS Fund Continues to Follow On
Smart agriculture big data service provider MaiFei Technology, which focuses on visual spectrum technology, today officially announced the completion of a Series A round exceeding 100 million RMB — the largest single financing round in China's smart agriculture sector to date. The round was led by GF Qianhe, with Hu Pan Shannan and CASSTAR following on. Pre-A round investors GTJA Investment Group, Baidu Venture, and FreeS Fund continued their participation.
MaiFei Technology CEO Huaze Gong stated that the funding will be used primarily to optimize and refine the company's technical systems and products, upgrade its business model, expand overseas market presence, and launch its data services segment — building the self-reinforcing capabilities of "MaiFei Smart Agriculture."
MaiFei Technology uses visual spectrum intelligent monitoring to achieve intelligent perception of crop physiological states. Through technological means, it generates scientific variable-rate pesticide application prescription maps and executes "precision scientific spraying" operations, providing precision scientific services to agricultural growers. (Full coverage: [FreeS Fund] Agricultural big data service provider "MaiFei Technology" raises 100M+ RMB in Series A | FreeS Funding News)
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FreeS Fund Hosts 2019 RMB Fund Annual Meeting and 2019 CEO Annual Meeting
Swipe left/right to see more photos from the event
On March 29–30, 2019, FreeS Fund hosted its 2019 RMB Fund Annual Meeting and 2019 CEO Annual Meeting in Beijing. Across both events, whether in the brilliant guest speeches or the intellectually stimulating panel discussions, the conversations consistently pointed toward long-term value — and toward the creation of social value beyond commercial value. Though the path to creating long-term value is thorny, being right always matters more than being comfortable.
We continue to believe that history's pendulum swings toward a better direction. FreeS Fund will continue to increase its investments in consumer and deep tech sectors.
FreeS Fund Perspectives
▍ Feng Li, FreeS Fund: We Focus More on Founders' Long-Term Ability to Build Products and Brands
The ability to generate traffic — or traffic plus business model — is what gets a founder started in the short term. But the ability to build products and brands is what keeps them going over the long term. In principle, we still hope to invest in the second type: founders with long-term product and brand-building capabilities who might not get off the ground without a traffic dividend. (Full coverage: [CaiFuJie] Feng Li, FreeS Fund: We Focus More on Founders' Long-Term Ability to Build Products and Brands)
▍ Feng Li, FreeS Fund: Today's Breakthrough Innovations Happen at the Intersection of Disciplines
First, innovation today is entirely cross-disciplinary — breakthrough innovations mostly occur at the intersection of fields. For example: biology + data and computing, biology + electronics (automation, sensors), chips + algorithms, biology + materials, chips + consumer scenarios, consumer + data...
Second, different industries and technology directions all go through cycles, moving through stages of foundational innovation, widespread adoption, and application innovation. Take GPS as an example: from GPS getting smaller, more accurate, and lower-power, to GPS being embedded in smartphones, to the emergence of DiDi and Uber — this is its evolution across different stages. For any given direction, different investment opportunities and analytical frameworks emerge at different stages and cycles. This means that investing in new directions and technology domains represents both opportunity and challenge for the entire primary market investment community.
FreeS Fund's investment team is currently composed of members with multidisciplinary backgrounds. Because when innovation is cross-disciplinary, you need a composite team with different know-how — from technology to application to consumer — to jointly evaluate a project. And when industries and technologies are at different stages, you need know-how from previous stages and different directions to make cross-cycle judgments. We believe this is an important advantage for the fund's overall investment approach and target selection.
Furthermore, from a cycle-hedging perspective, the best approach is diversification. But wanting to maintain both diversification and specialization in every direction is difficult — the challenge is having teams complement each other's growth rather than constrain one another. Put bluntly, you can't use TMT investment thinking to constrain pharmaceutical or chip investments. Because companies grow at different speeds, need different resources, and their founders have different capability profiles. (Full coverage: [PEDaily] Dialogue with FreeS Fund — Feng Li: Innovation Is Cross-Disciplinary (Part Two))
▍ Huang Hai, FreeS Fund: More and More Chinese Companies Are Exporting Their Playbooks Overseas
Five years ago, cross-border e-commerce was still a relatively obscure niche in China. So why has it become such a critical startup direction today? The answer lies largely in China's infrastructure.
First, China leads the world in the pace of mobile internet innovation and operational methodology. Pinduoduo, Qutoutiao, ByteDance, bike-sharing, mobile payments — these were all invented in China before spreading globally. More and more Chinese companies are now exporting their playbooks overseas, achieving what amounts to "dimensional reduction" competitive advantages. (Full coverage: [Hundun University] India's "Shopaholics" Take It to Another Level | This E-Commerce Player Is Capturing an Overlooked Consumer Base)
FreeS Fund Portfolio Updates
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Deep Tech | Moka Raises RMB 180 Million in Series B
Intelligent recruitment management system "Moka" recently completed its Series B funding round of RMB 180 million, led by Hillhouse, with Xiang He Capital and existing investors GGV Capital and GSR Ventures participating. YiBai Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor for this round. The proceeds will be used primarily for talent acquisition, product innovation, and business expansion.
Moka's advantage lies not merely in digitizing the recruitment process, but in using data and technology to improve workflows, identify problems, and drive efficiency gains. The company has successively launched features including "resume standardization and parsing," "resume deduplication," "talent pool auto-recommendation," and "intelligent job-candidate matching" — fully leveraging existing corporate talent database assets while efficiently screening new resumes. This serves two functions: cost reduction — lowering HR labor and management costs, eliminating redundant headhunter submissions — and decision optimization — making screening data-driven, freeing HR professionals from repetitive tasks so they can redirect energy toward more creative, higher-value work. (Full coverage: [36Kr] Exclusive | Data-Driven Recruitment Efficiency: "Moka" Raises RMB 180 Million Series B Led by Hillhouse)
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Deep Tech | Zejin Financial Services Raises Tens of Millions in Series A
Zejin Financial Services, a rising player in China's industrial fintech sector, recently announced the completion of a tens-of-millions RMB Series A round from China Merchants Capital, the venture arm of state-owned enterprise China Merchants Group. Founder Min Wei said the funding will focus on innovative R&D and industrial-finance operations system development, helping all clients accelerate growth during the current window of industrial finance opportunity.
Founded in 2015, Zejin Financial Services focuses on internet-enabled industrial finance, providing clients with financial product business consulting, online platform construction, and online-offline operations support. It is China's first pure fintech company offering one-stop industrial financial services without engaging in any financial business itself. (Full coverage: [FreeS Fund] Zejin Financial Services Completes Tens-of-Millions Series A, Using Technology to Return Finance to Its Roots | FreeS Funding News)
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Deep Tech | 360 Finance Releases First Post-IPO Earnings Report
On March 20, Beijing time, fintech company 360 Finance released its first earnings report since its December 2018 IPO.
Unaudited financial results for fiscal year 2018 showed Q4 2018 net revenue of RMB 1.566 billion, up 261% year-over-year; net profit of RMB 595 million, up 300%. Non-GAAP net profit was RMB 1.8 billion, up 992% from RMB 165 million in 2017.
Based on current business development, 360 Finance expects full-year 2019 net revenue to reach RMB 8–8.5 billion. (Full coverage: [Securities Times China] 360 Finance Releases First Post-IPO Earnings: Net Profit of RMB 1.8 Billion Last Year, Eye-Catching 992% Growth; Black Tech Risk Screening Is Major Selling Point)
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Deep Tech | SoundAI Technology Powers Huawei's New Set-Top Box
The China Content Broadcasting Network 2019 (CCBN2019) officially opened on March 21 at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing. SoundAI Technology-powered Huawei's new smart set-top box debuted at the exhibition, featuring SoundAI's far-field intelligent interaction system SoundAI Azero built in. The device enables super-intelligent remote-free operation, freeing users' hands and delivering a truly natural voice interaction experience with fluid AI-powered audiovisual engagement. (Full coverage: [SoundAI Technology] CCBN2019: SoundAI Technology Powers Huawei's New Set-Top Box, Creating a New Audiovisual Experience!)
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Deep Tech | Sunyur Launches Intelligent Procurement Middle Platform, Forms Strategic Partnerships with SIE Information and Fadada, Signs Ningbo Huaxiang Group for Digital Procurement Platform
Sunyur's intelligent procurement middle platform — which integrates the resources and capabilities enterprises need for procurement and provides digital support for front-end procurement operations — was officially launched at the Alibaba Cloud Summit on March 21. The platform comprises business, data, and technology middle platforms, plus an open platform connecting internal enterprise systems, external suppliers, and third-party services. (Full coverage: [Sunyur] Sunyur.com Launches Intelligent Procurement Middle Platform, Driving Enterprise Procurement Digital Transformation)
On March 26, Sunyur and SIE Information announced a strategic partnership; on March 11, Sunyur signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Fadada. Additionally, Ningbo Huaxiang Group — ranked among China's top 500 private enterprises and the world's top 500 auto parts companies — formally partnered with Sunyur to build an enterprise digital procurement platform.
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Deep Tech | Vanadium Titanium Intelligence Launches Insurance + Futures Service
As a "dual recruitment and attraction" project of the Kenli District Industrial Development Fund, Shandong Vanadium Titanium Information Technology — invested by Vanadium Titanium Intelligence — established operations in Kenli this March with an initial investment of RMB 3 million for localized operations, with plans to expand across Shandong and nationwide. The company's newly launched "insurance + futures" service has already brought tangible benefits to numerous local farmers.
Recently, Shandong Vanadium Titanium Information Technology launched its first egg revenue insurance project in Kenli District, successfully completing "one-click insurance" for 660,000 jin of eggs. (Full coverage: [Palm Kenli] Kenli's First Egg Revenue Insurance Successfully Implemented)
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Consumer | 2:10 Animation's The Great Wall Guardians Tops National TV Animation Ratings
On March 24, the domestic animated series The Great Wall Guardians concluded its first season. On Bilibili, this original animation scored 9.7/10, generated over 1 million discussions across the internet, and became the biggest surprise in domestic animation since the start of the year.
Three years in production, the all-animal 3D fantasy animation was jointly produced by Youku, 2:10 Animation, and Electric Animation. Since its premiere on January 19, it rapidly attracted a large audience with its exceptional production quality, surpassing 600 million views across all platforms.
Just recently on March 16, The Great Wall Guardians broke through to surpass established children's IP heavyweights like Pleasant Goat, Boonie Bears, and GG Bond to claim the top spot in national TV animation ratings. (Full coverage: [Animation Academic Bar] 9.7 on Bilibili: This Critically Acclaimed Domestic Animation Is the Year's Biggest Dark Horse)
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FreeS Fund Portfolio Awards
▍Plantur Wins Tmall Beauty Awards
The "Oscars of Beauty," the Tmall Beauty Awards, were announced on March 4. Based on comprehensive rankings from hundreds of millions of consumers and millions of beauty brands on Tmall over the past year — spanning search volume, online engagement, positive review rates, trial reports, purchase volume, and service standards — Plantur won "Tmall Beauty Awards 2019 Content Pioneer Brand." (Full coverage: [Plantur] The Oscars of Beauty | Plantur Won!)
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FreeS Fund Portfolio Perspectives
▍Three Squirrels' Zhang Liaoyuan: The "Five-in-One" New Business Model
In recent years, Three Squirrels has consistently emphasized a strategy of "driving new retail through digital transformation" and implemented a series of changes. All of these changes point toward the same goal — better serving consumer needs and capturing broader market opportunities.
In 2018, Three Squirrels introduced its new "Five-in-One" business model: deep product development, mastering the entire internet ecosystem, anchoring online, winning nationwide, and building lasting capabilities. First, develop products that the market recognizes. Second, create fun, inventive packaging that spreads through social media. Third, use Tmall as the primary online channel to push products to a mass audience, then refine and improve them based on feedback data. Fourth, once a product is proven successful, roll it out nationwide through a future offline network of over ten thousand small stores. Fifth, digitize the entire value chain and build up digital capabilities. (Full coverage: [People's Daily Online] Zhang Liaoyuan: The Digital Economy Leads the Snack Food Industry Toward High-Quality Development)
▍Xu Ke of VantAI: Global leadership in IoT + 5G deployment will accelerate the shift from consumer internet to industrial internet
In the 1980s, the financial data industry entered its 1.0 era, represented by Bloomberg serving major financial institutions. China's financial data sector grew rapidly alongside reform and opening-up and economic revitalization. Entering the internet era, and especially the mobile internet era, China gave rise to world-class consumer internet companies — represented by BAT — serving over a billion users, companies that could stand alongside Google, Facebook, and Amazon. This period also incubated financial big data enterprises for the 2.0 era, represented by Ant Group. In 2018, China's annual data production reached 7.6 zettabytes, surpassing the United States for the first time. Global leadership in IoT + 5G deployment will inevitably accelerate the upgrade from consumer internet to industrial internet, and will inevitably propel China's financial services industry to lead the global financial big data 3.0 transformation. (Full coverage: [Zhangjiang Headlines] VantAI's Xu Ke: China Will Certainly Lead the Global Financial Big Data 3.0 Upgrade)
▍Chen Xiaoliang of SoundAI: In the era of everything connected, any smart device becomes an entry point
In the mobile internet era, the smartphone became a highly converged human-machine interaction entry point. Entering the era of everything connected, the trend shifts toward decentralization — any smart device becomes an entry point. Far-field intelligent interaction systems that cover diverse and complex physical environments will become a crucial platform for transcending scenario barriers and imbuing varied hardware devices with interactive intelligence. (Full coverage: [SoundAI] 2019 AWE: SoundAI Debuts the SoundAI Azero Far-Field Intelligent Interaction Ecosystem)
▲ Bilibili 9.7 rating, Pepsi partnership, "Ten Thousand People Plan"... 6 takeaways and 4 insights | FreeS Blackboard · February
