Rongbao · April | Solid-state LiDAR leader Innoviz goes public; Genki Forest and Dingdong Maicai close new funding rounds

About Rongbao: Rongbao is a monthly digest curating notable news and insights from Gaorong Ventures and its portfolio companies.

Each issue shares just 10 stories — spanning major funding updates and milestones, but also emerging trends, new innovations, and fresh perspectives.

Aligned with Gaorong's vision of "creating a better life through innovation," we believe every step forward unlocks infinite possibilities.

LiDAR · Global Solid-State LiDAR Leader Innoviz Lists on Nasdaq

On April 6, Innoviz, a leading supplier of high-performance solid-state LiDAR, announced the completion of its business combination with Collective Growth Corporation (Nasdaq: CGRO). The combined company retained the name Innoviz Technologies, Inc. and began trading on the Nasdaq the same day under the tickers "INVZ" and "INVZW." Through this merger, Innoviz raised approximately $371 million in total proceeds.

Gaorong Ventures participated in Innoviz's Series B round in August 2017. Fellow investors in that round included world-leading automotive parts suppliers Delphi and Magna, as well as Samsung Electronics, SoftBank Ventures Korea, and Yaotu Capital.

Founded in Israel in 2016, Innoviz is a global leader in high-performance solid-state LiDAR. The company focuses on the automotive consumer market — the segment with the greatest near-term demand for LiDAR. Innoviz has already launched multiple MEMS solid-state LiDAR products with accompanying perception software. Among them, InnovizOne is a vehicle-grade solution designed for seamless integration, providing 3D perception capabilities for Level 3 to Level 5 autonomous driving. In October 2020, Innoviz introduced its newest sensor, InnovizTwo, targeting the L2 and L2+ market. Compared to InnovizOne, InnovizTwo achieves 30x better performance at 70% lower cost, with applicability across all vehicle types. Innoviz expects to begin mass production in 2022, with deployment in leading OEM automotive programs by 2023. The company also recently unveiled InnovizAPP, an automotive perception platform for the industry comprising automotive-grade hardware and software that enables autonomous vehicles to identify and classify objects.

New E-Commerce · "National Consumption Promotion Month" Kicks Off, Pinduoduo to Distribute 3.5 Billion Yuan in Consumer Subsidies

On May 1, the 2021 National Consumption Promotion Month officially launched under the theme "Accelerating the recovery and unleashing the potential of consumption, fostering a robust domestic market, and facilitating domestic and international dual circulation." The program includes events such as Shanghai's "May 5th Shopping Festival" and the third National "Double Quality Online Shopping Festival."

During the "National Consumption Promotion Month and Shanghai May 5th Shopping Festival," Pinduoduo expects to distribute 3.5 billion yuan in consumer subsidies to expand and upgrade the national consumer market, driving an estimated 20 billion yuan in combined online and offline sales.

On April 29, Pinduoduo initiated a "dual online-offline linkage" approach to distribute subsidies through "direct retail + online shopping." At offline stores, Pinduoduo partnered with the Shanghai Consumer Assistance Platform to provide excess subsidies on specialty agricultural products from Yunnan, Qinghai, Xinjiang, and other regions at 11 consumer assistance direct stores across the city. Simultaneously, Pinduoduo launched its "May 5th Hi-Pin Festival" promotion on its platform, using coupons, 10-billion-yuan subsidies, and "55% off" brand deals to sustain the spending enthusiasm of its nearly 800 million users.

New Brand · Genki Forest Closes New Strategic Funding Round, Charts Four Paths to Becoming "Genki Forest of the World"

In April, Genki Forest, a phenomenon-level domestic beverage brand, announced the completion of a new strategic funding round. The round was led by HSG, Warburg Pincus, and L Catterton, with participation from Temasek, Gaorong Ventures, Longfor Capital, and others. The post-money valuation reached $6 billion. Gaorong Ventures, which invested in Genki Forest in both 2019 and 2020, continued its support in this round.

Founded in 2017, Genki Forest leverages internet thinking and upholds a "customer first" value. Through market research, the company identified consumer demand for sugar-free beverages and, grounded in technological R&D, developed its star product: sugar-free sparkling water. Since then, Genki Forest has successively launched product lines including Ran Tea (burning tea), milk tea,健美轻茶 (light fitness tea), "Alien" energy drinks, and "Full Marks" fruit juice sparkling water, gradually expanding its footprint across major beverage categories.

Proceeds from this round will be deployed across four priorities: overseas acquisitions to bring in more high-quality international products; building higher-quality, more environmentally friendly "beautiful factories" in China; increasing investment in technology R&D; and accelerating internationalization to take Genki Forest global. These efforts aim to complete an integrated R&D, production, and sales value chain, continuously strengthening the company's moat and capturing opportunities arising from the rise of China's new generation of young consumers.

Reportedly, 2021 will be a "big year for products" at Genki Forest, with R&D spending and headcount set to triple 2020 levels. On the manufacturing front, following the completion of its first self-built factory in Chuzhou last year, Genki Forest's production bases in Tianjin Xiqing and Guangdong Zhaoqing, along with Chuzhou Phase II, will come online successively this year.

Fresh Retail · Dingdong Maicai Completes $700 Million Series D

Recently, Dingdong Maicai, China's leading and fastest-growing instant e-commerce platform, completed a $700 million Series D round. The round was co-led by DST Global and Coatue, with multiple existing shareholders increasing their stakes. Gaorong Ventures made three consecutive investments in Dingdong Maicai starting in 2018 — serving as the sole investor in the first two rounds — and continued to participate in subsequent rounds. Proceeds will be used for geographic expansion, supply chain investment, and team building.

Dingdong Maicai operates on a "direct sourcing from origin + front-warehouse fulfillment + 29-minute delivery" model. The company insists on direct sourcing to eliminate intermediaries, minimize uncertainty, and deliver quality fresh products at competitive prices.

As of January 2021, Dingdong Maicai had 350 direct-sourcing bases for fresh produce, over 600 origin-based suppliers, more than 5,400 fresh SKUs, and 85% of fresh agricultural products sourced directly from bases. During the 2021 Spring Festival, daily orders reached 900,000. The company now operates nearly 1,000 front warehouses across 29 cities.

Going forward, Dingdong Maicai will continue using technological innovation to advance digital infrastructure and improve fresh supply chains, contributing to the upgrading of agricultural supply-side structural reform.

New Brand · Yatsen Open Lab Debuts, Unlocking Full-Chain Beauty R&D

On April 15, Yatsen Holding unveiled its "secret weapon" for product R&D innovation — the Yatsen Open Lab collaborative ecosystem.

Yatsen Open Lab represents an innovative open R&D system. Unlike traditional closed R&D models, Yatsen Open Lab is anchored by Yatsen Holding and brings in global top-tier partners across raw materials, R&D, and manufacturing. Leveraging Yatsen's extensive and in-depth consumer research capabilities, multiple parties collaborate on innovation, tackling technical challenges and crafting premium beauty products to standards far exceeding industry norms.

Yatsen continues to strengthen its R&D infrastructure and enhance product capabilities. In 2021, R&D spending reached approximately 66.5 million yuan, nearly triple the 2019 level. As of December 31, 2021, Yatsen held 69 patents globally, including 36 invention patents.

To date, Yatsen has established R&D collaborations with renowned institutions worldwide, including Sensient Technologies Group (a leading global supplier of food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical colors), LSC 3D Skin Research Center at Lyon University Medical School in France, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, French plant stem cell cultivation specialist Naolys, and Pierre Fabre Group, one of Europe's largest dermatology and skincare groups.

In 2020, Yatsen reported total revenue of 5.23 billion yuan, up 72.6% year-over-year. DTC consumer base reached approximately 32.3 million, up 38%. As of end-March 2021, the group's official accounts across all channels had accumulated over 60 million followers.

Semiconductors · Xinhuazhang Signs Automotive Chip Strategic Cooperation Agreement

Recently, Xinhuazhang joined hands with automotive industry ecosystem partners to sign a strategic cooperation agreement on automotive chips, providing automotive chip design companies with complete solutions for achieving vehicle-grade functional safety.

Ecosystem partners include CATARC Software Testing (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. and CATARC (Tianjin) Automotive Engineering Research Institute Co., Ltd. (both subsidiaries of CATARC), Unisoc, NXP, Shanghai Xintai, Bank Card Test Center, Xindajiean, Infineon, Feisiling, Nuclei System Technology, Jifeng, and others.

Starting from vehicle-grade chip functional safety design and implementation, Xinhuazhang provides automotive chip design companies with comprehensive solutions covering vehicle-grade chip modeling, functional safety digital chip implementation, and high safety-level functional safety. The company is currently participating in the development of major national projects for vehicle-grade main control chips alongside well-known domestic OEMs, Tier-1 suppliers, chip design companies, and industry research institutions.

Going forward, Xinhuazhang will build on this foundation to provide domestic automotive chip design companies with industry-validated, vehicle-grade-compliant EDA tools and design service solutions. Together with ecosystem partners, the company will actively pursue technological breakthroughs and explore new industry cooperation models for automotive chips, empowering high-quality development of the automotive chip industry and contributing to China's ambitions as an automotive powerhouse.

Online Education · Genshuixue Rebrands as Gaotu Techedu, Expanding to Full-Cycle Learning Services

On April 22, online education company Genshuixue announced that it would now operate under the unified brand name "Gaotu Techedu." Following the rebrand, the original K-12 business remains as "Gaotu Classroom," the adult education business becomes "Gaotu Academy," and the company has launched the new "Gaotu Singularity Research Institute."

"Great teachers make great students; for online classes, choose Gaotu." Gaotu Techedu has evolved into a technology education company combining educational DNA with technological drive. Upholding the mission of "technology makes education better," the company integrates big data, AI, and online education around the model of "large-class lecturing, small-class service, personalized experience" — continuously developing and iterating its live online large-class products to make learning more efficient and accessible, advancing educational progress and equity.

By unifying under the "Gaotu" brand, the company aims to more focusedly serve students' full-cycle online learning needs going forward.

Gaotu Techedu's current product portfolio includes Gaotu Classroom and Gaotu Academy, covering K-12 core subjects as well as adult education in graduate exam prep, language training, and vocational certification — providing full-cycle learning services.

Ronghui · "Learning Strategy from Huawei" CEO Closed-Door Session, Visit to WeCom

Recently, Gaorong Ventures' Ronghui platform hosted a "Learning Strategy from Huawei" CEO closed-door session at Huawei. Zhang Wenlin, President of Huawei's Corporate Strategy Department, shared Huawei's strategic management practices through the lens of the Business Leadership Model (BLM) framework.

Zhang emphasized that strategy cannot be delegated — leadership must permeate the entire process of strategy formulation and execution. Companies should use gaps as drivers and strategic issues as focal points, concentrating resources to solve critical problems. Strategy formulation and execution must be tightly integrated, with vertical alignment to channel collective effort. Strategic reviews enable timely diagnosis and course correction. Organizational learning is a continuous process that must be sustained year-round, with best practices institutionalized through processes. Ultimately, building strategic organizational capability requires advancing along two parallel tracks: professional competence and organizational leadership.

In April, over 60 Gaorong Ventures portfolio companies and partners visited WeCom to explore new growth engines in private domain operations. By end-2020, WeCom had connected 5.5 million real enterprises and organizations, serving over 400 million WeChat users.

Lu Hao, WeCom's Senior Industry Director, shared how enterprises can use WeCom to enable efficient internal information flow and externally connect with 1.2 billion WeChat users, achieving cost reduction and efficiency gains. Su Yuan, WeCom's Beauty & Personal Care Industry Director, and Zhang Di, IT & Internet Industry Director, respectively presented case studies from consumer and enterprise service sectors on how WeCom helps companies build private domain systems and construct sustainable competitive moats for business growth.

Ecosystem · Tsinghua PBCSF EMBA "Belt and Road" Delegation Visits Gaorong Ventures

On April 16, 30 entrepreneurs and financiers from Tsinghua University's PBC School of Finance EMBA "Belt and Road" program visited Gaorong Ventures. This program is the first degree program at PBCSF focused on the Belt and Road Initiative, creating a learning and exchange platform for Chinese and international entrepreneurs to deepen mutual understanding of regional economies and national conditions, foster people-to-people connectivity, promote cross-border cooperation, and identify new opportunities under the Belt and Road framework.

During the visit, Xin Wei (PBCSF EMBA Class of 2016), Partner at Gaorong Ventures, shared the firm's investment methodology, proposing "Seven Embraces." Fei Binjie (PBCSF Master's in Finance), founder of Entropy Technology, drew on his years of experience providing digital solutions for the asset management industry to share perspectives on digital thinking in finance and industry, along with recommendations for enterprise digital-intelligent transformation.

Recognition · Chang Chen Ranks on Forbes 2021 Midas List and Other Honors

On April 13, Forbes released its 2021 Midas List recognizing the world's top 100 venture capitalists. Chang Chen, Founding Partner of Gaorong Ventures, ranked 8th on the list.

On April 30, the China FOF Research Center published its "2021 40 Under 40 Outstanding Young Investors" list, with Rui Han, Partner at Gaorong Ventures, recognized among the "2021 China 40 Best Direct Investment Fund Investors Under 40."