FreeS Family Funding News · April | OnKure Therapeutics, IceKredit, Duanyu Liangjin, and Jiuzhou Yunjian Secure Funding

"FreeS Family Funding News" is a new column we're launching to regularly share updates on portfolio companies' funding rounds. It covers both new investments and follow-on rounds for companies already in our portfolio. Together, we'll witness how innovative companies grow from 0 to 1, from 1 to 10, and from 10 to 100.

This edition at a glance:

• OnQuality Pharmaceuticals completed a $20 million Series A+ round, with Series A investor FreeS Fund doubling down
• FreeS Fund angel-round project IceKredit completed a 228 million yuan Series C2 round
• Duān Mù Liáng Jǐn secured a tens-of-millions yuan Series A round, with FreeS Fund participating
• FreeS Fund angel-round project Jiuzhou Yunjian completed a Series A round totaling over 100 million yuan

(Funding information in this roundup is limited to publicly disclosed rounds from April, sorted alphabetically by company name.)

1

OnQuality Pharmaceuticals completes $20 million Series A+ round, with Series A investor FreeS Fund doubling down

On April 12, OnQuality Pharmaceuticals completed a $20 million Series A+ round. New investors in this round include Shiyu Capital, Sinovation Ventures, and other individual investors. Existing shareholders FreeS Fund, Matrix Partners China, BioTrack Capital, and CAS Star continued to increase their stakes.

/ Investor Perspective /

As early as September 2019, FreeS Fund invested in OnQuality's Series A round and has continued to support the company in this round. We deeply admire OnQuality's unconventional approach — the founding team precisely identified the blue ocean market of oncology supportive care from both commercial and scientific perspectives. The company's rapid growth over the past year has further strengthened our resolve to keep backing them.

/ Funding Details /

OnQuality Pharmaceuticals has completed a $20 million Series A+ round. New investors include Shiyu Capital, Sinovation Ventures, and other individual investors, while existing shareholders Matrix Partners China, BioTrack Capital, FreeS Fund, and CAS Star continued to increase their stakes. The combined $35 million raised across the Series A and A+ rounds will fully support OnQuality's ongoing multi-center Phase II clinical trials in the United States, as well as R&D for four additional pipeline programs expected to enter clinical trials within the next 18 months.

OnQuality Pharmaceuticals is a company focused on developing first-in-class supportive care drugs for cancer treatment. All of its pipeline programs target side effects of anti-cancer drugs, aiming to improve patients' quality of life while simultaneously enhancing the efficacy of oncology therapies. (See full coverage: [36Kr] Focused on drugs for anti-cancer side effects, "OnQuality Pharmaceuticals" completes $20 million Series A+ round)

2

FreeS Fund angel-round project IceKredit completes 228 million yuan Series C2 round

On April 12, IceKredit announced the completion of a 228 million yuan Series C2 round, led by Guochuang Zhongding with Oriental Fortune Capital and Xiyu Capital participating.

/ Investor Perspective /

FreeS Fund continues to be optimistic about innovation opportunities in China's fintech sector. Especially amid the dual pressures of opening up and asset transformation, companies that serve licensed financial institutions in upgrading and transforming their businesses will have significant growth opportunities.

As IceKredit's earliest investor (angel round backer), FreeS Fund fully recognizes the AI technological advantages IceKredit has built over the years, as well as its deep understanding and execution capabilities across multiple financial scenarios including risk control and marketing. We are also very bullish on IceKredit's future potential for expansion into multiple sectors and even international markets.

/ Funding Details /

IceKredit recently announced the completion of a 228 million yuan Series C2 round, led by Guochuang Zhongding with Oriental Fortune Capital and Xiyu Capital participating. ChinaVenture served as the exclusive financial advisor for the C2 round. At the end of 2020, IceKredit announced its C1 round; the C1 and C2 together constitute the Series C round. This funding will primarily be used to expand the R&D team, pursue upstream and downstream investments and acquisitions, and strengthen the company's ecosystem development and business footprint.

IceKredit is a high-tech company that provides enterprise-level services using artificial intelligence. After nearly six years of development, it has grown into a leading enterprise in AI-powered business services, particularly in risk control. Building on its foundation in financial services, IceKredit continues to expand the boundaries of AI applications, converting its leading core technologies into scenario-appropriate products, and actively driving AI adoption across industries including finance, healthcare, government affairs, and security. (See full coverage: [IceKredit] IceKredit completes 228 million yuan Series C2 round, led by Guochuang Zhongding)

3

Duān Mù Liáng Jǐn secures tens-of-millions yuan Series A round, with FreeS Fund participating

On April 8, local wooden handbag brand Duān Mù Liáng Jǐn announced a tens-of-millions yuan Series A round, led by Challenjers Venture Capital with FreeS Fund participating.

/ Investor Perspective /

On the demand side, China's hundreds of millions of new middle-class and nouveau riche consumers have growing appetite for premium luxury brands, increasing confidence in Chinese culture, and greater appreciation for the value of traditional Chinese aesthetics and culture — driving surging demand for products with "Chinese content."

However, on the supply side, Chinese premium brands representing classical Chinese aesthetics remain absent, with the market dominated by Western brands. We believe domestic trend ("guochao") brands can find breakthrough opportunities and rise to prominence. The challenge is that new brands need exceptional comprehensive capabilities: understanding supply chains, possessing deep knowledge of Chinese cultural characteristics and classical aesthetics, and having excellent consumer insight.

Duān Mù Liáng Jǐn undoubtedly has this potential. To some extent, it has created an entirely new category: wooden handbags. In terms of craftsmanship and production, the team has revived and refined nearly lost micro-mosaic handicraft techniques for application in its products, while using digital and modular approaches to manage production processes. Additionally, Duān Mù Liáng Jǐn has chosen to ground itself in Chinese aesthetics, drawing inspiration from Han and Tang dynasty culture.

The team's DNA and accumulated expertise will also fuel Duān Mù Liáng Jǐn's commercial exploration. Founder Qi Tian graduated with a bachelor's degree from Tsinghua University's School of Architecture and a master's from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Architecture — and architecture is a highly interdisciplinary field requiring deep understanding of both Chinese and Western cultures, as well as intensive study of Chinese aesthetics and craftsmanship.

We firmly believe that domestic trend brands like Duān Mù Liáng Jǐn, grounded in Chinese context and aesthetic frameworks, will have the opportunity to lead industry development. (Click here to revisit our thinking on guochao consumer investments: FreeS Report 21: Searching for China's Classics and Fashion — Guochao Consumer Research | FreeS Research Institute)

/ Funding Details /

36Kr has learned that local wooden handbag brand Duān Mù Liáng Jǐn recently secured a tens-of-millions yuan Series A round, led by Challenjers Venture Capital with FreeS Fund participating. At the end of 2019, the company raised a Pre-A round from Challenjers Venture Capital and Fengqiao Capital; in 2018, it completed an angel round from Hanjin International.

Founded in 2011, Duān Mù Liáng Jǐn originally focused on crafting packaging for antiques and art pieces. It transitioned to a consumer brand in 2016, specializing in handbags and accessories made primarily from wood, complemented by brocade and leather.

Each of Duān Mù Liáng Jǐn's collections incorporates traditional Chinese design elements, with particular emphasis on art forms from before the Tang dynasty. Founder Qi Tian told 36Kr that compared to the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, Tang dynasty and earlier culture was more open and diverse, with China in constant dialogue and exchange with the world, both exporting and absorbing influences — its cultural and aesthetic achievements comparable to European civilization. Duān Mù Liáng Jǐn aims to convey its brand values through these globally resonant art forms from cosmopolitan eras.

Before 2020, Duān Mù Liáng Jǐn's offline stores were primarily in Beijing, including locations at China World Mall, Wangfu Central, and the 798 Art Zone. In early February this year, it entered Shanghai with a flagship store on the first floor of Grand Gateway 66. (See full coverage: [36Kr] Exclusive | "Duān Mù Liáng Jǐn" secures tens-of-millions yuan Series A round, telling a Chinese luxury story through wooden handbags)

4

FreeS Fund angel-round project Jiuzhou Yunjian completes Series A round totaling over 100 million yuan

Jiuzhou Yunjian completed a Series A round totaling over 100 million yuan, led by Zhongguancun Development Qihang Innovation Investment Fund, with co-investors including Yunhe Capital, Beijing Zhongguancun Development Jinse Seed Fund, Ourui Hongrun Venture Capital, Hive Capital, and Hebei Jiantou Chuangfa Fund.

/ Investor Perspective /

The Jiuzhou Yunjian team is one that FreeS Fund has long believed in, and the rocket engine business they pursue is also a direction we have long been optimistic about, continuously tracked, and invested in. Since our angel-round investment in Jiuzhou Yunjian in 2018, FreeS has had the privilege of witnessing the team's solid, pragmatic, and passionately formidable execution as professional aerospace engineers. We've also witnessed how Jiuzhou Yunjian has aligned with the national space program's grand strategy and vision, actively embraced the market, built internal capabilities, and achieved comprehensive and significant progress in technology, products, and market operations.

/ Funding Details /

36Kr has learned that Jiuzhou Yunjian recently completed a Series A round totaling over 100 million yuan, led by Zhongguancun Development Qihang Innovation Investment Fund, with co-investors including Yunhe Capital, Beijing Zhongguancun Development Jinse Seed Fund, Ourui Hongrun Venture Capital, Hive Capital, and Hebei Jiantou Chuangfa Fund.

Jiuzhou Yunjian is a commercial aerospace company that 36Kr has been following. Founded in 2017, the company focuses on the design, R&D, assembly, testing, and full lifecycle support of liquid oxygen-methane rocket engines. Wang Jingyan, partner and VP of investment and financing at Jiuzhou Yunjian, stated that this round of funding will primarily be used for further team expansion, product manufacturing and pre-delivery testing, and limited infrastructure investments to ensure operational capabilities. (See full coverage: [36Kr] Exclusive | Focused on liquid oxygen-methane rocket engine manufacturing, Jiuzhou Yunjian completes Series A round totaling over 100 million yuan)

The fourth event in the 2021 FreeS China-US Venture Forum series "Seizing China's New Era Opportunities" — "FreeS Open Day: Let's Talk About Everything You're Interested In Regarding Returning to China for Entrepreneurship/Investment" — will go live at 10:00 AM on May 9.

Feng Shu (Li Feng) will be joined by Muxing Technology co-founder & CEO Tao Tong, FreeS Fund early-stage project lead and former insight.io founder Chongzhe Li to discuss everything you're interested in and care about regarding returning to China for entrepreneurship or investment.

Those who have received offline event invitations, please arrive on time. Everyone is welcome to watch the livestream on FreeS's video channel, Baidu, 36Kr, Sina Finance, and Sina Tech! Send the keyword "04直播" to the FreeS Fund WeChat official account backend to get the livestream link with one click.

[Review the highlights of the third 2021 FreeS China-US Venture Forum]

We are currently seeking investors in biotech/medical, deep tech, and consumer/TMT across Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. If you're interested in joining, we especially welcome you to participate in Open Day online or offline. Of course, you're always welcome to send your resume directly to hr@freesvc.com.