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Key trends
KrASIA tracked 107 private investments in the past week. Enterprise services and healthcare-related deals continue to take the lead, while industry 4.0 and local consumption services trail behind.
Top Stories: VCs and Investments
On January 7, Hive Box (丰巢), the world’s largest logistics locker system operator, announced the close of its Series B round. It raised USD 400 million from a group of investors including Trustbridge Partners and Sequoia Capital China. This brings the company’s pre-money valuation to USD 3 billion. The funds will be channeled to expand Hive Box’s business network and improve operational efficiency.
Hive Box also disclosed its latest financial data. In the first three quarters of 2020, it attained an operating income of RMB 1.46 billion (USD 247.53 million) with a net loss of about RMB 846 million (USD 130.90 million). By the end of Q3, its total assets amounted to RMB 13.96 billion (USD 2.15 billion), while its net assets totaled RMB 8.4 billion (USD 1.3 billion).
Top IPOs of the week
Newlink Tech (新纽科技)
Recent Close Price*: HKD 4.15 (USD 0.54)
Recent Market cap*: HKD 3.32 billion (USD 429 million)
Debut date: January 6, 2021
Newlink Tech, a SaaS enterprise specializing in IT solutions for financial and healthcare institutions in China, successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on January 6. This marks the first IPO in Hong Kong this year.
Newlink Tech has a comprehensive suite of solutions for banks, trust funds and asset management firms. The company utilizes its Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) platforms to assist clients in providing financial services, managing data, and optimizing operational efficiency. Newlink is one of the few China domestic RPA solution providers that have successfully achieved commercialization, according to a report by China Insights Consultancy.
Newlink Tech said its healthcare IT solutions enable more than 200 top-notch hospitals across China to improve quality control in medical settings. Newlink’s products integrate functions that can provide a variety of advanced medical services, such as automatically issuing alerts if a clinical indicator hits pre-set values and allowing doctors to perform telemedicine operations.
*As of January 12, 2021
Startups on our watchlist
AgriTech
Beijing ICAN Technology (爱科农)Founded in 2018; Pre-Series A
Established in 2018, ICAN is an agriculture technology company that provides intelligent planting services to address the low digitalization rate in China’s large agricultural market. The company recently closed its pre-Series A round, raising eight figures in yuan from Linear Venture and GL Ventures.
Through algorithms and planting models powered by artificial intelligence, ICAN processes data from meteorological forecasts to assess the arability of land plots. Based on the estimations, the platform can then determine the most suitable crop varieties and offer recommendations to farmers. ICAN’s integrated agricultural management platform can also help farmers monitor the natural environment in real time to improve crop quality and yield.
In 2019, ICAN raked in operating income exceeding RMB 10 million (USD 1.55 million). Guo Jianming, CEO of the company, told 36Kr in an interview that he is optimistic about maintaining a 300–400% annual growth rate over the next three years.