<article>Beijing-based <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=Xiaozhu">Xiaozhu</a>, China&#8217;s largest house-sharing platform, is reportedly raising $100 million in a new funding round as it continues to compete with local rival <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=Tujia.com">Tujia.com</a> and US giant <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=Airbnb">Airbnb</a>.</article>

Beijing-based <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=Xiaozhu">Xiaozhu</a>, China&#8217;s largest house-sharing platform, is reportedly raising $100 million in a new funding round as it continues to compete with local rival <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=Tujia.com">Tujia.com</a> and US giant <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=Airbnb">Airbnb</a>.
According to a report in <a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/airbnbs-china-rival-in-talks-to-raise-100-million">The Information</a>, Xiaozhu, often described as Airbnb&#8217;s Chinese clone, is in talks with potential investors for its $100-million funding round, although no commitment has been made so far.
The startup was valued at over $1 billion after raising $120 million in a funding round in November last year led by Jack Ma&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=Yunfeng%20Capital">Yunfeng Capital</a>. Xiaozhu claims to have 350,000 listings and 28 million registered users, with total transaction volume hitting Rmb2.5 billion ($390 million) in 2017 from Rmb1.25 billion ($194 million).
The Chinese short-term rental startup is raising funds as rival Airbnb continues pushing forward in China. The US firm earlier said it has more than doubled the number of Chinese guests staying at Airbnb properties and boosted listings in China by 125 per cent to 200,000 from a year before.
Airbnb has pledged to continue making aggressive investments in the country after turning down an offer to merge its China business with local rival Tujia. It also denied Chinese media report that said it was in talks with Xiaozhu to partner in markets such as Japan and South Korea.
Xiazhu’s chief executive and co-founder Chen Chi, however, said it would not be easy for international firms to crack the Chinese market.
“Only local companies with a sense of mission and commitment to the domestic market can stand a chance in gaining leadership in the Chinese market,” Chen said in a statement.
Xiaozhu was launched in 2012 with the aim of providing a guaranteed platform for online communication and transactions for landlords and tenants. It operates under a C2C business model similar to Airbnb, which allows homeowners to post properties that are available as vacation or business rentals.
In 2016, Xiaozhu completed its Series C and D rounds of $65 million from a group of ivestors. The Series C was led by Capital Today while the Series D was backed by Bertelsmann Asia Investments, Morningside Ventures, Capital Today, and Heyu Capital.
The rental booking platform bagged its Series A round from Morningside in 2013 and had raised $15 million in Series B round led by Legend Capital in 2014.
China&#8217;s market for home-sharing services continues to expand rapidly. According to a report by the State Information Center, China&#8217;s State Council think tank, the transaction volume is expected to reach Rmb50 billion ($7.85 billion) by 2020.
The report said the number of tenants is likely to exceed 100 million while the number of share homes will exceed 6 million by 2020.
China&#8217;s market for home-sharing services continues to expand rapidly. According to a report by the State Information Center, China&#8217;s State Council think tank, the transaction volume is expected to reach Rmb50 billion ($7.85 billion) by 2020.
While the number of tenants is likely to exceed 100 million and the number of share homes to surpass 6 million by 2020, there is still ample room for the home-sharing market to develop, Xiaozhu’s Chen told Xinhua in a May interview.
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Beijing-based Xiaozhu, China's largest house-sharing platform, is reportedly raising $100 million in a new funding round as it continues to compete with local rival Tujia.com and US giant Airbnb.

Xiaozhu, Airbnb's China rival, raising $100m in new funding round

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Xiaozhu, Airbnb's China rival, raising $100m in new funding round

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