About Rongbao

Innovation takes courage, but it also requires getting down to brass tacks. This issue of Rongbao rounds up recent funding news in robotics, SaaS, chips, and healthcare; the infrastructure building behind growth numbers; and how leading companies are driving differentiated innovation and seizing globalization opportunities.

Funding

#01

Geekplus Closes $100 Million Series E1 Round Business Scale and Growth Rate Continue to Lead the Logistics Robotics Industry

On August 8, Geekplus, a global leader in logistics robotics, announced the completion of a new $100 million funding round co-led by Intel Capital, Vertex Growth, and Qingyue Capital, with a post-money valuation exceeding $2 billion. Gaorong Ventures co-led Geekplus's Series A round in 2016 and participated in subsequent rounds.

Geekplus is committed to providing a full range of logistics robot products and all-scenario solutions, empowering enterprises to achieve intelligent logistics upgrades. According to authoritative research firm Interact Analysis, Geekplus has ranked first globally in AMR market share for three consecutive years. In 2021, the company's sales orders exceeded RMB 2 billion, with revenue surpassing RMB 1 billion. In 2022, Geekplus maintained robust business growth, with first-half orders doubling year-over-year. It expects to maintain 100% annual growth for the full year, continuing to lead the logistics robotics industry in both scale and growth rate.

Currently, Geekplus serves more than 500 major global clients including Nike, Walmart, Siemens, BMW, Toyota, and DHL, many of which have made repeat purchases. As the first Chinese logistics robotics company to successfully expand overseas, Geekplus has established regional headquarters in the US, Europe, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Hong Kong, with mature sales, delivery, and service capabilities and extensive experience in over 30 countries worldwide. Read more

#02

Dianxiaomi Closes $110 Million Series D Round Accelerating International Strategic Layout

On August 16, Dianxiaomi, a global e-commerce SaaS platform, announced the completion of a $110 million Series D round led by SoftBank Vision Fund II and HSG, with continued follow-on investment from existing shareholders Tiger Global Management, GGV Capital, and China Renaissance New Economy Fund. Gaorong Ventures led Dianxiaomi's Series B+ round in 2021 and participated in its Series C round.

Dianxiaomi has launched multiple SaaS products recognized by global customers, leading millions of enterprises to achieve cost reduction and efficiency gains in global e-commerce markets. To date, Dianxiaomi has built a diversified product matrix centered on ERP, including the free cross-border e-commerce ERP "Dianxiaomi," Amazon refined management system "Saihu ERP," Southeast Asia local e-commerce ERP "BigSeller," Latin America local e-commerce ERP "UpSeller," global e-commerce intelligent customer service system "Duoke," global logistics tracking platform "17TRACK," and cross-border shared warehousing "Xiaomi Cloud Warehouse." These products focus on solving pain points for global e-commerce sellers and helping brands go global simply and efficiently.

Dianxiaomi now serves over 1.5 million global users and has established deep partnerships with more than 50 top global e-commerce platforms, over 1,600 quality logistics providers, and more than 80 overseas warehouses, processing annual order transaction value exceeding RMB 350 billion. Beyond Southeast Asia, Dianxiaomi is accelerating its deployment of localized products in Latin America, Europe, the US, and other regions with significant e-commerce potential. Read more

#03

GravityXR Raises Hundreds of Millions of RMB in Angel and Pre-A Rounds Tackling XR-Dedicated Intelligent Chips

Recently, GravityXR, an XR chip R&D company, announced that it raised a total of hundreds of millions of RMB in angel and Pre-A rounds within half a year. The angel round was led by Gaorong Ventures, with Sequoia Capital, IDG Capital, and GSR Ventures co-investing. The Pre-A round was led by a world-renowned XR industry leader, with Gaorong Ventures continuing to participate.

Founded in September 2021, GravityXR is dedicated to developing XR-dedicated intelligent chips. GravityXR's CEO previously led R&D teams at Apple for many years, accumulating extensive experience in XR hardware direction. Core founding team members have rich experience in chip R&D and the consumer electronics industry, having previously held important technical and product R&D positions at companies including Apple, Huawei HiSilicon, Meta, and Amazon, with deep expertise in chips, displays, sensing, image vision, and AR/VR.

Since its establishment, GravityXR has made significant progress in XR chip research and expects to complete mass production of its first-generation chip by 2024. This chip will be the industry's first platform specifically designed for XR applications, featuring high hardware customization and high integration for application-specific needs, with customized designs for hardware-accelerated processing in display, sensing, imaging, and other areas. Read more

#04

Biointron Closes Nearly RMB 500 Million Series B Round Focused on Antibody Discovery CRO Services

On August 31, Biointron, an antibody discovery CRO, announced the completion of a nearly RMB 500 million Series B round. This round was jointly invested by more than ten institutions including Cornerstone Capital, Jifeng Capital, Gaorong Ventures, Tianhui Capital, and Haitong Venture Capital, with existing shareholders Furong Investment and Chengshu Investment also participating again.

Founded in 2012, Biointron is a company focused on antibody discovery CRO services. The company has R&D and production bases in Zhoupu, Shanghai and Taizhou, Jiangsu, as well as business and logistics operations in the US.

Leveraging its industry-leading ultra-high-throughput recombinant protein preparation platform, the company has established a comprehensive technology platform covering the entire antibody discovery workflow, from target protein development and single B-cell antibody screening to antibody humanization, antibody affinity maturation, nanobody development, and stable cell line development.

To date, Biointron has provided end-to-end R&D service support to over a thousand downstream enterprises in the global life sciences industry chain, including pharmaceutical R&D companies, in vitro diagnostic reagent companies, vaccine companies, and cell therapy companies. Read more

#05

CoreHT Closes Nearly RMB 100 Million Angel Round Pioneering Visualized Diagnosis-Treatment-Integrated Targeted Radiopharmaceuticals

In August, CoreHT announced the completion of a nearly RMB 100 million angel round led by Gaorong Ventures.

CoreHT is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing visualized diagnosis-treatment-integrated targeted radionuclide therapy (TRT), with three technology platforms: targeted ligand screening, radiopharmaceutical conjugation, and clinical translation, dedicated to benefiting cancer patients and those with other serious diseases worldwide.

CoreHT was founded in 2021 by Dr. Yu Haihua, Dr. Wang Yu, and two other co-founders. The founding team comes from renowned international pharmaceutical companies including Endocyte/Novartis, Siemens, Lilly, Roche, and GSK, with extensive experience in innovative radiopharmaceutical development.

Visualized diagnosis-treatment-integrated targeted radiopharmaceuticals enable whole-body dynamic, non-invasive early visualized diagnosis and staging through PET/CT and other equipment, while also enabling treatment efficacy evaluation. Meanwhile, targeted radiopharmaceutical therapy (TRT) fully combines the advantages of targeted drugs and physical radiation, addressing current clinical pain points in terms of dosage, safety, and overcoming drug resistance, providing domestic and international patients with entirely new treatment options. Read more

By the Numbers

#01

Pinduoduo Q2 2022 Revenue Reaches RMB 31.44 Billion Advancing Rural Industry Digitalization

On August 29, Pinduoduo released its Q2 2022 financial report. The report shows Q2 revenue of RMB 31.44 billion, up 36% year-over-year; under US GAAP, net income attributable to ordinary shareholders was RMB 8.90 billion, up 268% year-over-year.

Against the backdrop of resilient domestic consumption and strengthening consumer demand, Pinduoduo launched multiple subsidy policies and relief measures this quarter to help platform merchants improve quality and efficiency. During the 618 shopping festival, Pinduoduo invested in multiple consumer subsidies and provided traffic support, logistics subsidies, product labeling, and after-sales guarantees to continuously help agricultural product sellers, manufacturing brands, and small and medium merchants expand sales channels and achieve stable growth. Meanwhile, domestic and international brands and merchants further increased their presence on the new e-commerce platform. In the 618 brand special event, the first batch of participating brand flagship stores exceeded 500, further meeting the diverse consumption needs of platform users.

In Q2, Pinduoduo also launched the "Seeking Fresh Chinese Agricultural Products" project, sequentially introducing fresh agricultural products from across the country according to seasonal availability, helping seasonal agricultural products open sales channels in a timely manner through direct farm-to-table connections, ensuring farmers achieve bountiful harvests and increased income. Shortly before this, Pinduoduo launched the fourth "Super Agricultural Products Festival," which will invest a cumulative RMB 1.5 billion in resources, covering nearly 200,000 agricultural products from over 2,000 agricultural production areas nationwide, comprehensively promoting the direct connection of "southern fruits and northern grains" to the national market. Going forward, Pinduoduo will continue to leverage its digital advantages to drive rural industry transformation and upgrading, building on its agricultural foundation.

#02

BOSS Zhipin Achieves Profitability for Five Consecutive Quarters Since IPO Multiple Measures Supporting Stable Employment

On August 23, BOSS Zhipin released its Q2 2022 financial report. The report shows revenue of RMB 1.112 billion, exceeding market expectations; under non-GAAP, the company has achieved profitability for five consecutive quarters since its IPO, with Q2 adjusted net income of RMB 257 million.

Based on the company's long-term investment in user service capabilities, as recruitment activity among SMEs warmed in June, BOSS Zhipin's average monthly active users (MAU) increased to 26.5 million in Q2. July MAU grew 16% month-over-month from June, with both MAU and average daily active users (DAU) reaching all-time highs. From June 29 to August 15, cumulative new registered users exceeded 10 million.

In April and May this year, corporate job postings, in-person interviews, and other recruitment activities were affected to varying degrees. BOSS Zhipin's infrastructure for direct online chat and online interviews, combined with its comprehensive geographic and industry coverage, made job seeking and recruitment more convenient while also ensuring normal recruitment activities during special periods.

Platform data shows that new job postings across the platform increased 15% month-over-month in July. The overall recruitment environment further recovered in August, with strong growth in new energy, real estate, media, healthcare, and other industries, as well as sales and marketing positions representing business expansion.

To alleviate employment pressure on this year's college graduates, BOSS Zhipin carried out various employment promotion activities. For example, building on a six-week spring recruitment event in cooperation with the Ministry of Education's 24365 Campus Recruitment Service, in June it launched a five-week city-specific event under the guidance of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. During the same period, BOSS Zhipin encouraged SMEs to release recruitment demand through free invitations and subsidies, bringing more options to university students.

#03

Dingdong Maicai Achieves First Phased Profitability Product Strength Is the First Driving Force

On August 11, Dingdong Maicai released its Q2 2022 performance report. The report shows Q2 revenue of RMB 6.63 billion, up 42.8% year-over-year; under non-GAAP, net income was RMB 20.59 million, achieving phased profitability for the first time.

With P&L turning positive in the entire Yangtze River Delta region in both Q1 and Q2 2022, Dingdong Maicai's business model profitability has become increasingly evident. On one hand, this is thanks to Dingdong Maicai's continuous expansion of supply chain origins, raising gross margin space through resource integration and efficiency improvements at the production end. On the other hand, fulfillment efficiency and operational efficiency on the Dingdong Maicai platform have been continuously optimized.

Under the strategy of "product strength is the first driving force," in Q2, sales of Dingdong's private label products accounted for 17.5% of total sales, with most developed and processed by Dingdong food factories; the products sold this quarter included 217 SKUs with market-differentiated features. Dingdong Maicai has built high-standard, semi-automated large warehouses, owns more than 10 food factories, and is currently constructing three large-scale 3F factories.

#04

Biren Technology Releases First General-Purpose GPU Chip "Quadrillions of Calculations Per Second"

On August 9, Biren Technology launched its first general-purpose GPU chip, the BR100, in Shanghai, setting a global computing power record with 16-bit floating-point performance exceeding 1000T and 8-bit fixed-point performance exceeding 2000T, with single-chip peak performance reaching the PFLOPS level. The BR100 is also the first domestic general-purpose GPU chip to adopt Chiplet technology, the new-generation host interface PCIe 5.0, and the CXL interconnect protocol.

The official release of BR100 marks the first time a Chinese company has broken the global general-purpose GPU computing power record previously held by international giants, officially ushering Chinese general-purpose GPU chips into the "quadrillions of calculations per second" era.

In addition to the BR100 general-purpose GPU chip, Biren Technology also officially released its original self-developed architecture — Biliang, the OAM server Haixuan which set global performance records, the OAM module Bili 100, the PCIe board product Bili 104, and the self-developed BIRENSUPA software platform.

Currently, Biren Technology is actively laying out commercial implementation to promote digital economic and social development. In its nearly three years since founding, Biren Technology has established cooperative relationships with dozens of world-class universities, achieving fruitful results in joint technology research, talent cultivation, and research commercialization.

#05

Haijieya Releases New Generation "Yi" Series Products Achieving More Than Ten Major Updates

On September 3, Haijieya, a leading platform enterprise in tumor minimally invasive ablation, released its new generation "Yi" series products at the 2022 Xiangshan International Interventional Medicine Summit. The series features more than ten major updates in active safety, human-machine interaction, and supporting consumables.

The new generation Cryoablation "Yi" series provides a new generation of tumor minimally invasive treatment systems, with multiple configurations presenting comprehensive solutions for global customers; offers multiple ablation needle models with various treatment zone, outer diameter, and length specifications; integrates cold and heat sources in one machine with combined low-temperature, high-temperature single-needle treatment; while simultaneously reducing both tube diameter and weight, with further extended shelf life.

Cryoablation tumor minimally invasive ablation technology possesses a complete independent intellectual property rights system, has been adopted by over a hundred tumor specialty hospitals, and has benefited thousands of patients. The new generation Cryoablation "Yi" series products and numerous innovative technologies and AI products will also be successively launched overseas. Haijieya Medical is building a complete tumor minimally invasive technology platform, striving to build a leading Chinese tumor minimally invasive world brand.

#06

Wobbit Medical Further Expands in Japanese Market Encompassing 11 Neurointerventional Treatment Devices

Recently, Wobbit Medical announced that it has updated its exclusive distribution agreement for Japan with Japan Lifeline for 11 neurointerventional treatment devices. The agreement took effect in August 2022 for a term of 10 years.

Since April 2022, Japan Lifeline has been successfully selling Wobbit Medical's Avenir™ mechanical detachable coil for neurointerventional treatment. This agreement expands the sales scope to include 10 additional products, including Wobbit Medical's Esperance® aspiration catheter, balloon catheter, microcatheter, guiding sheath, and phenox's p64/p48 series flow diverters, pRESET thrombectomy stent, pEGASUS assist stent, pCONUS bifurcation aneurysm assist stent, pITA PTA balloon catheter, and pRELAX vasospasm treatment device.

Japan Lifeline estimates that the current Japanese neurointerventional treatment device market is approximately JPY 30 billion annually. Treatment using the latest devices is still in a gradual expansion phase, and the market is expected to continue growing. Going forward, by building a comprehensive product portfolio covering the neurointerventional field, it will further meet the diverse needs of medical professionals.

Wobbit Medical has established a complete and globally competitive neurointerventional product portfolio, with 5 R&D centers, 3 production bases, and over 628 employees worldwide, with more than 350 patents granted or pending globally. Wobbit Medical's products are sold in 52 countries and regions worldwide, including China, the US, major European economies, and Japan.

#07

Unknown's JunTuo Biologics Live Biotherapeutic Oncology Pipeline Receives US IND, Among First Domestic Microbial Live Biotherapeutic Drug Pipelines Approved

On August 12, JunTuo Biologics, a subsidiary of Unknown, announced that its KEX02 live biotherapeutic product pipeline for combination therapy with PD-1 inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer has officially received clinical trial approval (IND) from the US FDA, allowing it to enter clinical stages. Public information shows this is among the first domestic microbial live biotherapeutic drug (LBP) pipelines to receive US FDA clinical approval.

KEX02 is an LBP live biotherapeutic drug derived from the gut of healthy children. Relying on Scitop Bio's lactic acid bacteria germplasm resource bank, through Unknown's multi-dimensional screening platform and Scitop Bio's strain development and production platform, the JunTuo Biologics R&D team discovered that KEX02 has excellent immune activation capabilities. KEX02 in combination with PD-1 antibodies demonstrated good tumor suppression effects, significantly improving survival in tumor-bearing mice. In terms of mechanism of action, KEX02 activates dendritic cells, enhances the killing function of effector T cells, and significantly improves immunotherapy response rates.

Aug

Horizons

#01

Xingji Launches First Self-Developed Digital Implementation EDA Product: AmazeFP Intelligent Layout Planning Tool

#02

Dewu Takes You to See the First Show of the New Metaverse

Aug

Ronghui

#01

Globalization Series: Building and Managing Global Organizations for Innovative Enterprises

In Chinese enterprises' globalization journey, how to build and manage global organizations that support rapid business expansion is a critical proposition. An increasing number of overseas-expanding enterprises have already "moved awareness first," placing great emphasis on localization and organizational capability building. Meanwhile, a new generation of recruitment, collaboration, and communication tools is changing at astonishing speed, bringing entirely new organizational forms and work style transformations to global enterprises.

Recently, Ronghui focused on "Global Organization Building and Management for Innovative Enterprises," inviting Lark Chief Commercial Officer Lin Chan and LinkedIn China Chief Strategy Officer Cui Yang to share globalization management practices and how tools and platforms empower organizations; Lark Consulting VP Yuan Lingzi also joined SaaS unicorn Deel co-founder Wang Shuo, along with Gaorong portfolio company Wiz.ai CEO Zhang Chenchen and Style3D HRVP Feng Wenyun, in a dialogue on organizational structure, talent attraction, and culture building for global enterprises.

#02

Industry Innovation Day: Visiting BioBAY, Bravely Venturing into the Medical Innovation Journey

On August 26, Gaorong Ventures Ronghui and KCB Daily jointly hosted the "Visiting BioBAY — R&D, Clinical, Policy: Bravely Venturing into the Medical Innovation Journey" event, covering pharmaceutical policy interpretation, industry forward-looking analysis, leading capital insights, and other topics, with focused discussion on key propositions on the path of medical innovation.

At the event, BioBAY President Yin Jianguo and Gaorong Ventures Partner Yang Kun delivered opening remarks; National Drug and Medical Device Inspector and Jiangsu Province Suzhou Market Supervision Medical Industry Development Service Division Director Shen Qin, Suzhou Industrial Park Market Supervision Bureau Drug and Medical Device Supervision Division Director Ni Meihua, and Vitae Research Senior VP of R&D Xu Yanping respectively shared in-depth reflections on the industry from dimensions including drug and device policy trends and innovative pharmaceutical companies' R&D strategies.

In the roundtable dialogue, Fubio Biotech co-founder and CEO Guan Xiaoming, Anda Pharmaceuticals Chairman and CEO Liu Dong, ProfoundBio co-founder and CTO Shang Xiao, and ZhiXiang Biotech CTO Wu Qiwei joined Gaorong Ventures Executive Director Lei Beilin in a multi-level, multi-perspective, multi-dimensional brainstorming session on the theme of "The Journey of Innovative Drug R&D for Major Needs — R&D, Production, and Clinical."