Source Code Capital portfolio company "Wanwudezhi" announced the completion of an $80 million Series C funding round, with existing shareholder Source Code Capital co-leading the round and continuing to increase its stake.

源码资本·November 4, 2020·0·5

Within a year of launch, the app has amassed over 42 million registered users, with monthly transaction volume exceeding 1 billion RMB.

Chinese heritage e-commerce platform Wanwudezhi announced it has completed an $80 million Series C funding round, jointly led by China Renaissance and Source Code Capital, with GGV Capital and Zhongyuan Capital participating. Cygnus Equity served as financial advisor. Source Code Capital was the lead investor in the company's Series B. The new capital will fund a strategic upgrade focused on deepening industry expertise, improving user services, and strengthening talent recruitment and development.

As a representative player in the Chinese heritage e-commerce space, Wanwudezhi has seen rapid growth. Within just over a year of launch, the app has amassed more than 42 million registered users, with monthly transaction volume exceeding RMB 1 billion. According to company management, its pioneering authentication service "Wanwu Authentication" has surpassed 1 million monthly orders, making it the largest authentication institution in the Chinese heritage and collectibles industry. The platform projects annual transaction volume will exceed RMB 10 billion in 2020.

Wanwudezhi's online transformation of the collectibles industry has won recognition from both investors and users. The company has completed five funding rounds to date, with Source Code Capital, China Renaissance, GGV Capital, Zhongyuan Capital, ZhenFund, and K2VC among the notable participants. Having raised two rounds within the first half of 2020 alone, Wanwudezhi has emerged as a benchmark for the entire collectibles sector.

Tang Jinshang, Founder & CEO of Wanwudezhi, said: "Chinese heritage categories are still in an early stage. Wanwudezhi has only completed the online migration of collectibles distribution channels, and there remains much room for improvement. Many craft and culture-related categories in the industry have yet to reach the branding stage—they remain fragmented on the supply side, with uneven quality and service. The industry needs professional teams to provide deeper, customized services. Authentication was our first step in reshaping the industry, giving users a professional channel where they can buy collectibles with confidence, but this is far from enough. After this funding round, we will go deeper into the industry, working with more talented people to leverage content and professional expertise to help upgrade the industry and provide users with more professional services and higher-quality products."

"Wanwu Authentication" Pioneers Full-Process Collectibles Authentication

Product Authentication Service

Within the Chinese heritage e-commerce industry, Wanwudezhi pioneered "Wanwu Authentication," a full-process product authentication service for collectibles transactions. Through its "authenticate first, ship later" model, the platform addresses trust issues for both buyers and sellers: items that pass initial screening are sent to an official authentication warehouse covering over 6,000 square meters, where authenticators conduct inspection under full video surveillance. The platform currently works with 500 senior authenticators holding GAC, CGC, FGA, NGTC, and other credentials. Its self-operated warehousing, unboxing inspection, and product authentication workflow has established an online authentication service standard for the collectibles e-commerce industry.

In August, Wanwudezhi invited actor Pan Yueming to serve as the platform's chief connoisseur, pioneering celebrity endorsement in the collectibles space. In September, Wanwudezhi partnered with over 30 Chinese heritage brands to host the first Hangzhou Historical Classic Culture Festival, celebrating traditional cultural brands.

Industry Leader After Just 18 Months

According to QuestMobile, a leading third-party mobile internet data analytics platform, Wanwudezhi's MAU (monthly active users) reached 5.14 million in September 2020, ranking first in the collectibles e-commerce industry. Following this Series C, Wanwudezhi has become the most-funded company in this vertical.

As cultural content spreads widely and Chinese cultural confidence grows, the era of "everything can be collected" is gradually arriving. With the development and advancement of specialized platforms like Wanwudezhi, the Chinese heritage consumption industry is being transformed.

Sun Tong, a director of Wanwudezhi from Source Code Capital, said: "We are very confident in Wanwudezhi's development. On one hand, we see the massive market and online migration trend in collectibles and Chinese heritage; at the same time, favorable changes on both supply and demand sides are increasingly reflected in the platform's operating data. On the other hand, the team has iterated and improved rapidly, consistently finding better paths to achieve targets—whether in livestreaming, authentication, or community features. Throughout this process, Source Code Capital hopes to better support the company in creating lasting, genuine value."