Chinese e-commerce site Beidian has secured 860 million yuan ($126 million) from a group of heavyweight investors including Hillhouse Capital and Sequoia Capital.
Other investors in the round include Xiang He Capital, Sinovation Ventures, IDG Capital and Capital Today, according to an announcement on Sinovation Ventures’ WeChat page on Thursday.
The proceeds will be used for upgrading its supply chain experience and building infrastructure to create a social retail community.
Beidian was set up in August 2017 as an online distribution channel for Chinese maternal and child care conglomerate Beibei Group.
Beidian is different from traditional e-commerce sites like Taobao and JD as it focuses on social commerce, which allows users to buy, sell and share products in the group. It also gives importance to improve the three-way connection among consumers, shopkeepers and suppliers.
Beidian claims the number of members in the store has exceeded 50 million since the beginning of 2019.
Yunji, another social e-commerce market player from China, filed for an initial public offering in the US last month, aiming to raise up to $200 million.
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