Rongbao · May | Pinduoduo Enters the Era of 800 Million Users, Waterdrop Inc. Debuts on the NYSE

About Rongbao: Rongbao is a monthly digest that brings together noteworthy news and insights from Gaorong Ventures and its portfolio companies. Each issue shares just 10 things — including, of course, major funding announcements and milestones, but also new trends, new creations, and fresh perspectives. As Gaorong Ventures works toward its vision of "creating" a better life, it believes every step of innovation brings infinite possibilities.

New E-Commerce · Pinduoduo Enters the 800 Million User Era, Doubles Down on Agricultural Infrastructure

On May 26, Pinduoduo released its Q1 2021 financial results. As of March 31, 2021, the company's annual active buyers reached 823.8 million, a net increase of 195.7 million year-over-year. At a record-breaking pace, Pinduoduo officially entered the 800 million user era, further advancing its goal of serving China's broadest base of consumers.

Revenue for the quarter hit 22.167 billion yuan, up 239% from 6.541 billion yuan in the same period last year.

An increasing number of top global brands are choosing to set up shop on Pinduoduo. In the previous quarter, the platform's merchant base exceeded 8.6 million, and growth continued to accelerate this quarter. Brand flagship stores under Pinduoduo's "10 Billion Subsidy" program grew more than 10x year-over-year.

Supported by ecosystem partners including platform merchants, brand owners, and service providers, the "10 Billion Subsidy" channel now boasts over 100 million monthly active users, with more than 10 million people placing group-buying orders daily — effectively meeting the needs of China's widest user base for a better life.

As China's largest platform for agricultural products moving upstream from farms to consumers, Pinduoduo continued to ramp up investment in agricultural infrastructure this quarter. In agricultural R&D, the company has deepened collaborations with leading research institutions and academicians both at home and abroad, making sustained investments in scientific farming, agricultural robotics, smart agriculture, and future foods.

Insurance & Health Services · Waterdrop Inc. Lists Successfully, Becoming NYSE's "First Insurtech Stock"

On May 7, Waterdrop Inc., China's leading insurance and health services technology platform, successfully listed on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming the first "insurtech stock" from China on the NYSE under the ticker "WDH."

Gaorong Ventures was a co-lead investor in Waterdrop's angel round, backing the company from its earliest days and participating in every subsequent funding round, providing continuous support along the way.

Founded in 2016, Waterdrop operates two main businesses: Shuidichou, a network-based critical illness crowdfunding platform, and Shuidibao, a health insurance technology platform. Through an integrated business model, it provides users with solutions spanning pre-illness protection and post-illness support. Shuidichou pioneered zero-service-fee online critical illness fundraising and remains China's largest personal critical illness assistance platform. Shuidibao currently partners with 62 insurance companies, using technology to advance inclusive insurance. By 2020 first-year premium (FYP) volume for health and life insurance, Waterdrop is China's largest independent third-party insurance platform, achieving over 14.4 billion yuan in FYP in 2020 and serving 79.4 million cumulative insurance users as of December 31, 2020.

Starting in the second half of 2020, leveraging user accumulation, data insights, and payment capabilities from its crowdfunding and insurance businesses, Waterdrop began expanding into pharmaceuticals and health management, piloting services like "Waterdrop Health" and "Waterdrop Haoyao Pay."

Waterdrop founder and CEO Shen Peng stated that the company will continue to expand its insurance product and health service offerings. Waterdrop's vision is to partner with collaborators to build a Chinese version of UnitedHealth Group, enabling users to access better diagnosis and treatment at lower cost.

New Consumption · Dingdong Maicai, Bloks Group, and Ling Shi Hen Mang Complete New Funding Rounds

Recently, Dingdong Maicai, China's leading and fastest-growing instant e-commerce platform, announced the completion of a $330 million Series D+ round led by SoftBank. In April, Dingdong Maicai announced a $700 million Series D round co-led by DST Global and Coatue, with participation from multiple new and existing investors. The total Series D funding now stands at $1.03 billion.

Gaorong Ventures was Dingdong Maicai's earliest investor, serving as the sole investor in its first two rounds and continuing to participate in multiple subsequent rounds.

Dingdong Maicai operates on a model of direct sourcing from producers, front-warehouse fulfillment, and delivery within 29 minutes, using technology to upgrade the entire supply chain. The company is committed to going straight to the source of ingredients and agricultural production regions, improving distribution efficiency, and strictly controlling quality so consumers can eat fresher, safer, and with greater peace of mind. Going forward, Dingdong Maicai will continue to enhance its supply chain capabilities, empower modern farming and aquaculture, and contribute to modern agricultural development and rural revitalization.

On May 14, Bloks Group announced the completion of a 600 million yuan Series B round co-led by Yunfeng Capital and Legend Capital, with Gaorong Ventures among the participants. Gaorong Ventures had previously invested in Bloks' Series A round in late 2020 and re-upped in this round.

Founded in 2014, Bloks formally committed in 2015 to building an industrial ecosystem centered on "building blocks," investing decisively to develop a truly original block system that has won broad recognition from both industry and consumers. Data shows Bloks has led the entire industry in growth rate for three consecutive years.

With building blocks at its core, Bloks has connected the essential stages and scenarios of children's development, laying out a complete industrial vision spanning T (Toy) + A (Animation) + G (Game) + E (Education).

In May, professional snack chain brand Ling Shi Hen Mang announced the completion of a 240 million yuan Series A round, with Gaorong Ventures as a co-lead investor. This marked the company's first external funding round.

Ling Shi Hen Mang's first franchised store opened in Changsha in March 2017. Through an offline franchise model, the brand has grown rapidly, surpassing 450 stores within four years and standing out among numerous snack chain competitors.

Ling Shi Hen Mang offers a new solution in the form of professional neighborhood snack shops, effectively meeting consumers' upgrading demands by providing better quality, higher value-for-money snacks, and building a truly national snack brand. The company has formally begun nationwide expansion, bringing professional snack services to more consumers.

Semiconductors · Xinhuazhang and XinYaohui Complete New Funding Rounds, Serving Critical Domains of the Digital Society

On May 13, Xinhuazhang, a leading EDA (electronic design automation) intelligent software and systems company, announced the completion of a Pre-B round exceeding 400 million yuan, bringing total funding to over 1.2 billion yuan. In December 2020, Gaorong Ventures led Xinhuazhang's Series A round and continued to participate in its A+ and Pre-B rounds.

Xinhuazhang has assembled global EDA industry elites and top talent from cutting-edge technology fields, dedicated to developing next-generation EDA software and intelligent electronic design platforms. Its products comprehensively cover digital chip verification needs, including hardware emulation systems, FPGA prototyping verification systems, intelligent verification, formal verification, and logic simulation — fully supporting development across integrated circuits, 5G, artificial intelligence, cloud services, automotive electronics, and high-performance computing, while providing partners with independently developed, secure, and reliable chip industry solutions and expert consulting services.

Xinhuazhang has completed the first phase of its EDA 2.0 research and will soon announce the results. This phase will help establish the technical path for developing next-generation EDA, improving overall efficiency across the integrated circuit industry chain and fully supporting future digital development.

On May 19, XinYaohui, a leading chip IP company, announced the completion of a Series A round exceeding 500 million yuan. In less than a year since its founding, the company has raised nearly 1 billion yuan total, cementing its position as a top-tier player in the chip IP space. This round was led by Gaorong Ventures, which had previously invested in XinYaohui's Pre-A round in February 2021.

XinYaohui is dedicated to advanced semiconductor IP R&D and services, empowering chip design and system applications. Through independently developed advanced process chip IP products, the company responds to China's rapidly growing chip and application demands, comprehensively enabling chip design. With the unique value and advantages of high stability, strong compatibility, cross-process portability, and scalability, its IP products serve all critical domains of the digital society, including data centers, smart vehicles, high-performance computing, 5G, IoT, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics.

Since its founding, XinYaohui has rapidly advanced customer adoption, successfully bringing its extensive IP products and services to market quickly. In 2021 to date, the company has exceeded its sales targets and achieved rapid revenue growth.

LiDAR · Innovusion, Global Leader in Image-Grade LiDAR, Completes $64 Million Series B

Recently, Innovusion completed a $64 million Series B round co-invested by Temasek, BAI Capital, and Joy Capital, with existing investors NIO Capital, Eight Roads, and F Prime also participating. Gaorong Ventures had led Innovusion's angel round in 2016 and participated in its subsequent Series A round.

As a global leader in image-grade LiDAR, Innovusion is fully committed to enabling safer, smarter, and more efficient mobility and transportation. With leading R&D capabilities, excellent safety assurance, and controllable costs, its products are widely used in autonomous driving, smart cities, smart highways, and rail transit, earning the trust and partnership of regional collaborators and benchmark enterprises.

In January this year, NIO unveiled its first smart electric sedan, the ET7, equipped with an image-grade ultra-long-range LiDAR co-developed with Innovusion. Featuring a 120-degree ultra-wide field of view and ultra-high resolution, it can detect objects at distances up to 500 meters. Innovusion is prepared to support the continuous evolution of NIO's full-stack NAD autonomous driving technology.

Innovusion's high-definition long-range LiDAR is also playing an important role in advancing coordinated development of intelligent connected vehicles and smart cities. In Xiong'an New Area, a model smart city, Innovusion was among the first high-tech enterprises to establish operations at the Xiong'an Zhi Hui Wei Lai Technology Park. Additionally, Innovusion's image-grade long-range LiDAR has been successfully deployed in Baidu Apollo intelligent transportation city projects in Beijing, Changsha, Cangzhou, and other locations.

Enterprise Services · Cross-Border E-Commerce Platform "Dianxiaomi" and Hospital Economic Operations Digital Management Provider "Xiruan Technology" Complete New Funding Rounds

Recently, Dianxiaomi, a global one-stop cross-border e-commerce service platform, announced the completion of a 135 million yuan Series B+ round led by Gaorong Ventures.

Founded in 2014, Dianxiaomi is a leading one-stop service platform for China-based B2C export e-commerce sellers, dedicated to deeply connecting marketplace platforms, logistics providers, and merchants to support global e-commerce sellers and make "buying global, selling global" simpler.

The company's flagship "Dianxiaomi" product is a cross-platform e-commerce ERP system targeting small and medium sellers. Beyond its core product, Dianxiaomi has continuously expanded its boundaries, launching "Saihu," an Amazon-specific tool for large sellers; "BigSeller," a Southeast Asia local e-commerce tool; "Xiaomi Cloud Warehouse," a shared domestic warehouse service; and "TrackDog," a global logistics tracking system.

As of May 2021, Dianxiaomi has achieved technical integration with 37 top global e-commerce platforms, over 800 quality logistics providers, and more than 50 overseas warehouses, processing annual order transaction volumes exceeding 180 billion yuan.

This month, Xiruan Technology, a digital technology company focused on hospital economic operations management, announced the completion of a nearly 100 million yuan Series A+ round led by HSG. Gaorong Ventures had invested in Xiruan's Series A round in 2020 and re-upped in this round.

As a specialized vendor in health economic management informatization and data services, Xiruan Technology has built a complete full-series product system based on its self-developed Xiruan Cloud Platform, with over 40 independently developed software products including "Xiruan HRP" and "Xiruan Cloud Platform."

Currently, Xiruan's new-generation hospital intelligent operations management system covers 6+ application domains, 26+ product system modules, and 1,160+ business scenario units, providing medical institutions with twelve major application models: integrated operations management, business-finance integration, group management, fine-grained control, Xiruan Cloud Platform, supply chain collaboration, human resource management, mobile online applications, internal control systems and management, big data decision analysis, collaborative work portals, and intelligent applications.

Healthcare · Westlake Yungu Intelligence Pharma Completes Tens of Millions of Yuan Angel Round, Using AI to Advance Gene Editing Therapeutics

In May, Westlake Yungu Intelligence Pharma announced the completion of a tens of millions of yuan angel round from Gaorong Ventures.

Westlake Yungu Intelligence Pharma is dedicated to building the world's first platform-based biopharma company that bridges artificial intelligence technology into gene editing therapeutics. Driven by technological innovation, the company aims to improve the druggability efficiency and capabilities of gene editing therapies, establish AI-driven workflows across the entire CRISPR drug development pipeline, and explore uncharted territory in gene editing therapeutics.

Westlake Yungu has assembled an interdisciplinary team spanning genomics, deep learning, cell biology, and immunology. The company is currently developing cutting-edge technology through iterative high-throughput biotech data generation and deep learning model building, while constructing AIdit, an original technology-driven gene editing therapy development platform.

Drug R&D · MingMed's First-in-Class Ophthalmic Drug for Dry AMD Passes US IND, Enters Phase I Clinical Trials

On May 25, Guangzhou MingMed announced that its investigational product QA102 — a first-in-class ophthalmic drug for dry age-related macular degeneration (Dry AMD) — has passed the US FDA's IND process and formally entered Phase I clinical trials in the United States. The commencement of US clinical trials marks not only a major breakthrough in MingMed's ophthalmic innovative drug pipeline, but also signals that Chinese emerging biopharma innovators with fully independent R&D capabilities, represented by MingMed, are beginning to compete on the world stage.

Founded in October 2019, MingMed has assembled a R&D team of top scientists and experts, along with a scientific committee of globally influential scientists. The company has achieved world-class breakthroughs in ophthalmic drugs, small-molecule immunology drugs, novel aesthetic medicine drugs, and cell therapy. In March 2021, MingMed announced the completion of a nearly $60 million Series A round led by Gaorong Ventures.

Ronghui · 2021 Ronghui To B Growth Camp Launches, Building High-Quality Growth Systems

Recently, the 2021 Ronghui To B Growth Camp launched, formally convening 46 outstanding To B entrepreneurs. Over three months, the program will focus on critical growth levers including new business models, enterprise and SMB sales, customer success, and content marketing. Through sharing sessions with industry veterans and case study discussions, it will help founders gain insights and inspiration to genuinely solve growth pain points.

Click to browse growth camp mentor sessions:

12 New Trends and 12 New Growth Models in Global To B for 2021 | Ronghui To B Growth Camp Ten Questions on To B | SAP Cloud Architecture VP Du Jianfeng: SAP's Cloud Transformation Journey and Next-Generation SaaS Opportunities How Can a STEM-Minded CEO Drive Sales Results? Sales Is a Science, Not "Magic" | Ronghui To B Growth Camp

Recognition · Gaorong Ventures Wins PEDaily "China's Best Performing VC Firm TOP10" and Other Awards

On May 13, PEDaily released its 2020 annual rankings, with Gaorong Ventures winning awards including China's Best Performing Venture Capital Firm TOP10, China's Best Internet/Mobile Internet Sector Investment Firm TOP20, China's Best Semiconductor and Integrated Circuit Sector Investment Firm TOP20, and China's Best New Consumption Sector Investment Firm TOP20.

On May 11, 36Kr released its 2021 "White Horse Awards," with Gaorong Ventures named among 2021's Most LP-Recognized Venture Capital Firms in China TOP10.

This month, the 2021 PEDaily TOP100 Investors list was released, with Gaorong Ventures founding partners Chang Chen, Gao Xiang, and Yue Bin all making the list.