Yimian Data

Yimian Data (一面数据) was a data technology startup founded in early 2014 by Tony Dongni Ren, who had previously left Kuaibo (快播) to start the company with partners in Shenzhen . Tony served as founder and CEO . The company was acquired by Ascential Group (艾盛集团) in 2018 after the team received an unsolicited approach via LinkedIn, with Tony accepting a four-year VAM (valuation adjustment mechanism) earn-out agreement as part of the deal . ZhenFund (真格基金) was an early backer, becoming Yimian Data's angel investor in 2016 with an investment decision that reportedly took just 90 minutes; this was actually ZhenFund's second investment in the company after an earlier round eight years prior . The acquisition represented a notable exit case in China's startup ecosystem, with Tony later reflecting that as long as a founder remains at an acquired company, the team can never truly integrate into the larger corporate system .