Securing Strategic Investment, Rocket Tests, the "Iron Triangle Initiative"... 7 Developments and 3 Insights | FreeS Fund Blackboard · July
Getting it right matters more than making it easy.
Welcome to the July edition of the FreeS Fund newsletter. We're sharing the latest updates from the fund and good news from the FreeS family with our long-time friends and supporters:
- Deep Tech: Naxions closes an A+ round of strategic investment worth tens of millions of RMB from IQVIA; Jiuzhou Yunjian's "Lingyun" engine auxiliary system passes qualification testing.
- Consumer: Three Squirrels hosts the "77 Partners Co-Creation Conference"; Baichanghui and Marriott International hold a partnership launch and salon on "Flipping Space Addiction."
- Awards: Three Squirrels named to the "2018 China Food and Beverage Top 100"; Club Factory ranks on App Annie's "Top 10 Cross-Border/Overseas E-Commerce Apps by Downloads"; Onion Math makes the "2018 China Pre-Unicorn Top 50" list from Chuangye Heima.
As a young fund, FreeS Fund will keep our heads down and push forward, while staying curious about the unknown — always looking forward to crossing paths with innovation and the extraordinary.
FreeS Family Updates
1
Deep Tech | Naxions Closes A+ Round of Strategic Investment Worth Tens of Millions of RMB from IQVIA
Naxions, a FreeS Fund angel-round portfolio company, recently announced the completion of its A+ round worth tens of millions of RMB, with IQVIA (formerly QuintilesIMS) as the investor.
IQVIA (NYSE: IQV) is a global leader in information, innovative technology, and R&D outsourcing services. Its investment in Naxions marks its first-ever investment in China since entering the market over 20 years ago. The proceeds will be used primarily for talent acquisition, product R&D, and market expansion.
Since its founding in 2015, Naxions has been deeply rooted in the pharmaceutical industry, applying "data collection + analytics/management tools/business consulting + execution" to serve pharmaceutical companies with digital marketing solutions. (See full coverage: [36Kr] Naxions Closes A+ Round of Strategic Investment Worth Tens of Millions of RMB from IQVIA, Using Big Data to Bridge Information Asymmetry Between Doctors and Pharma Companies)
2
Deep Tech | Jiuzhou Yunjian's "Lingyun" Engine Auxiliary System Passes Qualification Testing
On July 14, Jiuzhou Yunjian completed a 200-second long-duration test of the "Lingyun" 10-ton liquid oxygen-methane engine auxiliary system.
The test successfully achieved five objectives: validating the reliability of the gas generator, a critical auxiliary system component; verifying the compatibility between the torch ignition system and the gas generator; confirming the reliability of several self-developed cryogenic valves; testing the engine auxiliary system timing sequence; and validating long-duration operational reliability. The successful completion of this test represents a crucial step in breaking through key engine technologies and provides important support for subsequent engine development. (See full coverage: [ChinaVenture] Jiuzhou Yunjian's "Lingyun" Liquid Rocket Engine Auxiliary System Passes Long-Duration Test)
3
Consumer | Three Squirrels Hosts 77 Partners Co-Creation Conference
On July 7, Three Squirrels and its partner network held the Partners Co-Creation Conference. "To stay the same, everything must change." Stepping out of its comfort zone, the company marked the day of the 77 Partners Co-Creation Conference as the true beginning of the 0.0 era. "In an age of product homogenization, we have to take on the harder challenges," said Squirrel Dad.
For the first time, the conference presented a three-dimensional view of Three Squirrels' future development plan: the "Iron Triangle Plan" with digitalization, organization, and culture as its underlying operating system, establishing a deterministic "iron triangle relationship" among "masters, partners, and squirrels"; the "Diamond Fist Plan" for rapid deployment, delivering deterministic "fist products" to masters; and on this foundation, uniting all squirrel partners to "build a super national brand together," with a future goal of "serving 200 million families," defining 2018 for Three Squirrels and its partners as "the founding year of the new squirrel era." (See full coverage: [Sohu Finance] Three Squirrels × Squirrel Partners | What Did the 77 Partners Co-Creation Conference Actually Deliver?)
4
Consumer | Baichanghui and Marriott International Host "Flipping Space Addiction" Partnership Launch and Salon
On July 14, Baichanghui, a one-stop corporate event services platform, and Marriott International's North China region co-hosted a partnership launch and salon themed "Flipping Space Addiction." Over 40 creative young professionals from well-known internet companies, responsible for marketing, branding, and events, gathered to exchange ideas and share insights on space traffic, offline space innovation, and the experience economy.
Shen Wei, founder of Baichanghui, noted that over three years, drawing from 100,000+ venue spaces on the platform and 200,000+ events organized for clients, the company has learned that quality venue spaces have their own inherent addictive power.
At this "Flipping Space Addiction" event, this insight was distilled into a playful formulation: "The Law of Universal Space Addiction states that interesting spaces and people with ideas will always attract each other." (See full coverage: [Sohu Tech] While People Study Scene Marketing Tactics, What Are the "Scenes" Themselves Up To?)
5
FreeS Family Awards
▍Three Squirrels Named to "2018 China Food and Beverage Top 100"
On July 26, the Food and Beverage Innovation Forum (FBIF) released the "2018 China Food and Beverage Top 100" (abbreviated as the "FBIF Top 100"), with Three Squirrels ranking 36th.
The FBIF Top 100 evaluates food, beverage, alcohol, agriculture, and pharmaceutical companies based in China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), ranked by "food manufacturing" sales performance. FBIF believes that "openness and sharing of data" is essential to drive the development and progress of China's food industry. Joining Three Squirrels on the list were industry leaders including Yili Group, China Mengniu Dairy Company Limited, Master Kong, Moutai, Wuliangye, Wahaha, and JDB. (See full coverage: [FBIF Food and Beverage Innovation] 2018 China Food and Beverage Top 100 Released: WH Group, Yili, Mengniu Top Three, Threshold for Entry at 2.1 Billion RMB!)
▍Club Factory Ranks on App Annie "Top 10 Cross-Border/Overseas E-Commerce Apps by Downloads"
On July 5, App Annie released its ranking of the top 10 Chinese cross-border/overseas e-commerce apps by downloads. The list reviewed the performance of Chinese cross-border e-commerce companies in overseas markets from January to May this year, covering primarily third-party B2C platforms selling directly to overseas consumers, excluding brand e-commerce companies selling their own products and import-focused cross-border shopping platforms.
Alibaba's AliExpress ranked first. FreeS portfolio company Club Factory, which has been cultivating Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern markets for several years and has recently shown strong performance in India, ranked second in cross-border/overseas downloads for the first five months of the year. (See full coverage: [App Annie] Overseas E-Commerce App Rankings Released: A Glimpse into Chinese E-Commerce's Global Market Layout)
▍Onion Math Named to "2018 China Pre-Unicorn Top 50"
On July 6, the 2018 Unicorn Summit, hosted by Chuangye Heima and co-organized by iHeima, was held in Beijing, where the "2018 China Pre-Unicorn TOP 50 (Summer List)" was released. A total of 146 investment institutions participated in project nominations, 227 companies applied, and 50 companies ultimately made the list.
Onion Math was recognized as a "2018 China Education Sector Pre-Unicorn." (See full coverage: [iHeima] 2018 China Pre-Unicorn TOP 50 Summer List Released! 146 Investment Institutions, 227 Companies Participated)
Perspectives from the FreeS Family
▍Feng Li, FreeS Fund: Competition in Consumer Is Full-Chain Efficiency Competition
For the past decade, everyone has more or less stayed in their lane — offline stayed offline, online stayed online, industrial products stayed industrial, experiences and services stayed experiential, international brands stayed international, and China-specific models stayed China-specific.
But now, looking at traffic and demand composition, consumer industry players are increasingly doing both sides; looking at product delivery formats, everyone is getting involved across the chain, from industrial products to the most raw products. Consumer industry competition today isn't won at a single point — you need sufficiently high efficiency and solutions across nearly the entire chain to build real competitiveness. (See full coverage: [TMTpost] Feng Li, FreeS Fund: Today, Competition in Consumer Is Full-Chain Efficiency Competition | 2018 Tech & Life Festival)
▍Li Zheng, General Manager of QingTao Energy: Don't Just Keep Your Head Down Making Today's Money — Looking Ahead Is Better
China's lithium battery industry is racing against the world. We can't all pile into today's market scramble — we also need to position ourselves early on future tracks. "Too many people in the lithium battery industry just want to keep their heads down making today's money without thinking about the future. Actually, if you could look up and ahead a bit, it would be better," said Li Zheng, general manager of QingTao Energy.
Li Zheng explained that QingTao will achieve solid-state battery mass production in the second half of this year, primarily in cell form, targeting high-value-added applications such as wearables, consumer electronics, and military power supplies. Through this commercialization process, the company will explore ways to gradually standardize processes, equipment, and materials while reducing costs. On this foundation, it will gradually explore the power battery sector, laying groundwork for applications in new energy vehicles over the next 5-10 years, growing from small to large to gradually capture the solid-state battery new track. (See full coverage: [GGII Tech & Application] QingTao's "Flanking Maneuver" on Solid-State Batteries)
▍Chang Le, Co-founder & CKO of SoundAI: The Robot Butler Is One Future Direction for Voice Interaction
Currently, intelligent voice interaction scenarios are still largely confined to smart speakers. As breakthroughs occur in smart homes, automotive, banking, hospitality, and other sectors, voice interaction will see further market release and technology accumulation. A robot butler like "Samantha" represents one future direction for voice interaction.
"But reaching that stage will take time. First we enter the stage of intelligent perception, understanding user commands, before we can transition to intelligent cognition," said Chang Le. "Right now we're still cultivating user habits. Especially for the younger generation with greater future purchasing power — if they grow up exposed to voice interaction products, they'll naturally develop affinity for this interaction mode." (See full coverage: [Enterprise Service Headlines] BAT, Xiaomi, Lenovo's Smart Speakers — This Company Supplies the Technology for All of Them!)
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