CHINA AGRIFOOD STARTUP - INVESTING REPORT INVESTING REPORT - AGFUNDER
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China AgriFood
INVESTING REPORT
Startup
INVESTING REPORT
YEAR IN REVIEW
AgFunder is a global
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We invest in bold and exceptional
entrepreneurs transforming our food
and agriculture system
Our in-house technology enables us to invest globally and at scale, make better investment decisions,
and supporting our portfolio companies. Through media and research, AgFunder has built a community
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Our China Report Partner
Bits x Bites is China’s first food tech accelerator and VC fund that
invests in startups tackling global food system challenges. It invests
across the food supply chain, from agriculture, production,
distribution, and retail to consumer education.
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 3
INTRODUCTION
China Macro Trends 101
Premiumization Drives Consumer Demand Venture Capital Industry Catching up to US
Following its transformative GDP growth since the 1990s, the
On the startup side, China is now the second largest venture
Chinese economy is now largely driven by a booming middle
capital market after the US by aggregate deal value and by the
class willing to pay more to improve their quality of life, whether
number of unicorns. Venture capital investment in China
it’s with digital devices, cars or high-end dining experiences.
reached over $40 billion in 2017, up 15% from $35 billion in
This quality-seeking population will reach 550 million by 2022, a
20162.
huge jump from only about 18 million in 20001. Most evident
among the millennials, this group craves product varieties and
brands that speak to their social identities. We call this the Systemic Challenges
“consumption upgrade” trend. With 1.4 billion people, China has 20% of the world’s
population but only 7% of its arable land. Since its infamous milk
Digital Economy Growing at Lightning Speed melamine crisis in 2008, food safety remains a growing concern.
In 2013, China surpassed the United States to become the Dietary diseases have grown hand-in-hand with economic
world’s largest e-commerce market. Today China accounts for growth and urbanization. Excessive salt, oil, and fat in new diets
more than 40% of the total value of global e-commerce have made it the largest obese population in the world3.
transactions. The total value of its mobile payments ($11.8 All of these issues present tremendous opportunity for
trillion in 2017) was 11 times the size that of the United States. disruptive innovation.
1McKinsey&Company “Mapping China’s Middle Class”
*Middle class is defined as household income $9,000 - $34,000
2KPMG “China VC investment hits new heights with USD40 billion in 2017, finds KPMG analysis”
3The Guardian “Obesity: the big, fat problem with Chinese cities” per year..
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 4INTRODUCTION
convenience to a new level through unmanned stores,
2017 in Review vending machines, eGrocery and smart kitchen appliances
alongside startups.
Different from the United States and Europe, the majority of The majority of investments were made at the early stages –
China’s homegrown agrifood startups focus on advancing seed to Series B deals represented 86% of the 177 startup
new food experiences and business model innovation; few funding rounds. This early stage investment was funded by
are centered on technological innovation, yet. specialized food tech funds like Bits x Bites, diversified
investors such as ZhenFund and Chinaccelerator, and other
Downstream startups focused on consumer-facing single-deal investors.
businesses dominate the space accounting for 84% of deal
activity and 94% of total investment. Some international food China’s technology giants—Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent
tech companies seized the open field upstream to import (subsequently referred to as BAT)—were key investors in the
their on-farm innovations to China. space in 2017, spending nearly $1 billion on early-to late-
stage startups that fit their corporate strategies. They are also
Consumer willingness to pay more for high-quality and
providing exits for the industry, notably in the food delivery
premium products is a key theme in China’s agrifood industry
space where three jumbo M&A deals closed worth $5.8
as well as a major driver for the overall economy. For this
billion in total (see page 12).
reason, we created the Premium Branded Food and
Restaurants category, even if the startups lack a technological While China is behind the US in agrifood innovation, arguably
element. This category of startups, which represents the in distribution it is way ahead. These technology-driven
largest number of deals in 2017 (60), seeks to reform the
network effects make the country’s food industry ripe for
food landscape by introducing a wave of food and beverage
disruption, which often occurs when you have a new, faster, and
concepts that were foreign to China until only recently.
cheaper distribution channel.
At some point this will start to reach back into the supply
We hope you enjoy this inaugural China AgriFood Startup
chain creating a need for traceability and transparency
technologies all the way to the farm. Investing Report!
Big companies such as Alibaba and JD.com are advancing AgFunder & Bits x Bites
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 5WHAT IS AGRIFOOD?
AgriFood Startup Category Definitions
Ag Biotechnology In-Store Retail & Restaurant Tech
On-farm inputs for crop & animal ag including Shelf-stacking robots, robotic cafes, POS systems,
genetics, microbiome, breeding, animal health food waste monitoring IoT
Farm Management Software, Sensing & IoT Restaurant Marketplaces
Ag data capturing devices, decision support Online tech platforms delivering food from a
software, big data analytics wide range of vendors
Farm Robotics, Mechanization & Equipment eGrocery
On-farm machinery, automation, drone Online stores and marketplaces for sale & delivery
manufacturers, grow equipment of food & ag products to consumer
Bioenergy & Biomaterials Home & Cooking Tech
Non-food extraction & processing, feedstock Smart kitchen appliances, nutrition technologies,
technology, cannabis pharmaceuticals food testing devices
Novel Farming Systems Online Restaurants and Meal Kits
Indoor farms, aquaculture, insect, & algae Startups offering culinary meals and sending pre-
production portioned ingredients to cook at home
Supply Chain Technologies Premium Branded Foods & Restaurants
Food safety & traceability tech, logistics & Premium food experiences inc better product
transport, processing tech design, formulation, packaging, & thematic
restaurants
Agribusiness Marketplaces
Upstream
Commodities trading platforms, online input
Miscellaneous Downstream
procurement, equipment leasing
Upstream+Downstream
Innovative Food
Cultured meat, novel ingredients, plant-based
proteins
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 6SOURCES
Sources & Methodology
Data Sources & Curation through research or direct sources. We included undisclosed
financings when computing aggregate figures. The final
The raw data for the China AgriFood Funding Report comes
result might be affected by the undisclosed financings.
from multiple public channels including 36kr, itjuzi.com,
Zero2IPO Group, AgFunder, and crowdsourcing directly
from the industry. Only startups falling into our defined
Multiple Financings
categories are included in the database. International In some cases, multiple financings were for the same
startups receiving Chinese investments are also included. company in the same year. In the case of distinct funding
rounds (Seed, A, B,…) or asset classes (debt v. equity), we
The raw data is then heavily curated to ensure that it is counted these as separate rounds.
relevant, accurate, up-to-date, and categorized according to
AgFunder’s proprietary tagging system for inclusion in the
NEEQ listed startups
report.
Some startups are listed on National Equities Exchange
Although some deals are not disclosed which might affect and Quotations (NEEQ), China’s national securities trading
some results, we believe our database reflects the overall market for SME and startups. Companies listed on NEEQ
situation of agrifood startups in China. are excluded unless they have innovative business models.
While we are happy to share our findings, AgFunder and our
China report partners Bits x Bites reserve all rights with BAT involvements
respect all material contained in this report, and require it to Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent (BAT) refers to financings with
be fully and accurately cited when reproduced. direct investments from these companies and indirect
investments through venture capital arms or subsidiaries
Undisclosed Financings controlled by BAT.
Of the 177 financings in our curated data set, 19 had
undisclosed financings, which could not be determined
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 7SOURCES
Sources & Methodology
Categorization Timelines
AgFunder’s categorization system is designed to capture In most cases, the details of a funding are recorded within a
broad themes in the agrifood technology landscape (see few days of its first public announcement. However, there are
page 6 for a list of categories). As the categories progress times when these details are only shared months or even
through the value chain from farm inputs to the consumer, years after the deal has officially closed.
the mapping becomes complex. The agrifood sector has a
wide supply chain spanning industrials, farming, logistics,
wholesale distribution, processing, retail distribution, and the
consumer. In many cases, technologies such as marketplaces
connect different links in the supply chain and so in this
report we’ve chosen to focus on high-level themes.
AgFunder and Bits x Bites manually reviews each company,
often with significant research and debate.
Given the importance of consumption upgrade as a driver in
China’s startup ecosystem, AgFunder and Bits x Bites
implemented a new category “Premium Branded Foods &
Restaurants” to reflect this influential trend in agrifood China.
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 8Co-Investment Fund
Co-invest with AgFunder and other leading venture capitalists
in the next generation of agrifood technology startups
Reserve Now
Opens October 2018
Accredited Investors only. Spots are limited.
Investors admitted on a first come, first serve basis.
https://agfunder.com/managed-fund
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 9
This does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.Year End Overview 2017
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 10China AgriFood Startup Funding Breakdown 2017
Upstream Downstream
Ag Biotech, Farm Management SW, Farm Robotics & In-store Restaurant & Retail, Online Restaurants, eGrocery,
Equipment, Bioenergy & Biomaterials, Novel Farming, Restaurant Marketplaces, Home & Cooking
Agribusiness Marketplaces, Midstream, Innovative Food
*BAT refers to China’s three largest internet companies Alibaba, Tencent and BaiduYEAR IN REVIEW
Notable Acquisitions
After more than five years of explosive growth, China’s online food delivery market saw long-awaited consolidation in 2017
with Alibaba and Tencent backing three jumbo M&A deals this year.
Alibaba led an investment round of $1 billion in Ele.me,
the second largest food delivery player that later in the
$1bn $4bn same year acquired its trailing rival, Baidu WaiMai. This
deal took Baidu out of the battle and drove Tencent to
lead a $4 billion additional investment in Meituan-
Dianping, the only competitor of Ele.me. Alibaba and
August 2017 Tencent together now own around 90% all online food
delivery transactions in China.
Collectively, these three deals illuminate the strategic
priorities of China’s biggest Internet companies: data,
June 2017 Oct. 2017
traffic, and logistics. Each with more than 100,000
Baidu
couriers, Ele.me and Meituan-Dianping complement
Alibaba’s and Tencent’s current logistic services by
providing last-mile delivery. The two super platforms each
counts hundreds of millions of users, with peak online
$800m daily orders reaching 27 million. The massive amount of
data offers great opportunities to improve efficiency and
open doors for future products.
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 12YEAR IN REVIEW
Key Insights for 2017
1. Downstream Deals Dominate 2. Consumption Upgrade a Driving Force
• Investment levels in agrifood startups operating downstream – • China’s exploding middle class and its spending on premium
closer to the consumer – represented 94% of the total $1.8 food experiences remain attractive to startups.
billion of funding during the year, with upstream startups
raising just 6% of investment dollars. Globally the split was • From ready-to-drink to ready-to-eat to craft beer to artisanal
more balanced at 58:42 downstream to upstream. coffee, consumers are willing to pay premium for better
ingredients, cleaner labels, more traceability, and new food
• Widespread last-mile delivery services turned eGrocery into
experiences.
one of the most energetic sectors in 2017. Some eGrocers are
focusing on niche markets, such as desert and children’s • Brands that breathe new life into traditional foods drew
foods, while others are using AR/VR to enhance the shopping
consumer and investor interest alike, such as pear juice brand
experience.
Yizhibi, which received $140 million investment.
• New Premium Foods and Restaurants came to the market,
• Investors made large and small bets on brands that best
including upgraded Chinese food products as well as
speak to Chinese consumers. Funding sizes in Premium
imported concepts from the west, such as artisanal coffee and
craft beer. Branded Foods and Restaurants varied from $1 million to
$140 million.
• Scattered farmland and complicated supply chains make it
difficult for upstream startups to gain momentum in China. • Chain store Hot&Hot and restaurant chain The Tough Little
Less educated farmers are also slow to adopt technology. Lobster, both selling cooked crayfish – one of China’s most
popular dishes, raised $ 21.2 million and $ 17.5 million
• Jiuye Coldchain found rare success as an upstream company. respectively. While hot dishes were hot, cold dish also saw
By quickly expanding alongside growing demand for fresh love in the market with Max & Salad Series A.
produce delivery, it secured $30 million in Series B funding.
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 13YEAR IN REVIEW
Key Insights for 2017 (Continued)
3. Convenience Rises to New Heights • Forty deals closed in the unmanned store and vending
machine sector in 2017 raising $514 million, representing
• Ubiquitous online retail, mobile payment, and last-mile 29% of total investment. Active investors were BAT,
delivery create a fertile environment for companies to push international funds such as IDG and Matrix Group, domestic
convenience to a new level. To save time and effort, Chinese VCs such as Yunfeng Capital, industrial funds like Legend
consumers give away massive amounts of data. Capital, and single deal investors.
• “New retail” is a concept pioneered by Alibaba to describe • Fundraising speed was impressive. Xingbianli, an unmanned
the integration of e-commerce, brick-and-mortar stores, and snack and beverage store chain, secured $57 million Series A
logistics. Its Hema supermarket blends e-commerce, in only five months after its establishment. Two days after
supermarket, and in-store restaurant. Pushing beyond the unmanned store F5 announced its $6.4 million Series A
Whole Foods model, it incorporates cashless payments, 30- capital injection, a similar unmanned store Bingo Box raised
minute door-to-door delivery for customers living within 3km, $15.1 million funding.
and waived listing fees for vendors.
• Investor enthusiasm in automated shopping is reminiscent of
4. Investors Eye Futuristic Shopping China’s online food delivery sector a few years ago. However,
inefficient supply chain management, high operating costs
• Alibaba’s leadership in technology-enabled “new retail”
and fierce competition meant 90% of unmanned stores and
offered the signal needed for a wave of startups and investors
vending machine startups failed, many going bankrupt
to jump into the unmanned store and vending machine space.
toward the end of the year. Players backed by BAT showed
For China’s impatient consumers, these fast-growing 24-7 self-
higher survival rates with more robust capital and technology
service shopping options added one more level of
support.
convenience to the already ubiquitous restaurant and grocery
delivery.
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 14YEAR IN REVIEW
Key Insights for 2017 (Continued)
5. BAT* Create Potential Exits
• BAT-supported companies made up for only 8% of non- • Three BAT acquisitions of Restaurant Marketplace
M&A deal activity but contributed $741 million, about startups – ele.me, Meituan & Dianping, and Waimai
42% to the total funds raised. They covered eGrocery, Baidu totaled $5.8 billion.
unmanned stores, and vending machines—all of which
were valuable for consumer traffic and data. • Exits are a key piece of a vibrant ecosystem; US
agrifood corporates have been slow to acquire tech
• BAT became a major exit channel for startups. BAT- startups by comparison – in 2017, agrifood tech
backed companies accounted for 96% of total M&A startup acquisitions weren’t anywhere near $5.8
investment volume in 2017. Their support has proven billion. It wouldn’t be surprising if China’s tech giants
crucial for unicorns such as Ele.me, which leveraged started looking at the US agrifood industry for more
their capital, resources, and extended network. acquisitions.
• BAT often competes in the same categories. For
example, in eGrocery, Alibaba chose Yiguo while
Tencent bet on Missfresh.
*BAT refers to China’s three largest internet companies Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 15Innovation Services
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AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 16Deals by Category
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 17DEALS BY CATEGORY
Key Insights - Category
1. 2017 was a good year for fresh produce eGrocers, 5. Agribusiness Marketplaces. After B2B online producer
thanks to widespread last-mile delivery and momentum in retailer Meicai became a unicorn in 2016, a number of
online-offline retail. Yiguo, the earliest fresh food e- national and regional online agri-products wholesalers
commerce backed by Alibaba, completed a $300 million emerged and subsequently received funding by major
Series D. Missfresh, funded by Tencent, secured $330 investors such as Chinese online retailer JD and Japanese
million in Series C . conglomerate MITSUI.
2. In-Store Retail & Restaurant Tech was the new darling of 6. Startup investment is relatively slow in several categories
investors. More than half of the 55 deals in this category including Home and Cooking, Farm Management Software,
were unmanned stores and vending machines. A large Sensing & IoT, and Novel Farming System, and Midstream
number of investors, domestic and international, large and Technologies.
small, BAT and non-BAT were all chasing this category.
RFID, mobile payment and big data were widely used 7. Apart from venture capitalists, incubators and
technologies. accelerators are supporting agrifood startups. China had
7533 incubators and accelerators by the end of 20161,
3. Many startups flooded into Premium Branded Foods providing co-working space, resource connecting,
and Restaurants thanks to the huge consumer market and mentorship and small funding. Big food and beverage
low barriers to entry. The average deal size was small at $1 companies, international and domestic, are giving money
million. to startups through venture arms or direct M&A.
4. Premiumization expanded from the imported foreign
concepts of artisanal coffee and beer to the traditional tea
beverage. Among eight new tea startups that have pushed
tea to luxury status, Naixuecha raised $15.2 million in
Series A at a valuation of $0.9 billion, almost taking it to
unicorn status.
1
Xinhua News Agency
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 18DEALS BY CATEGORY
2017 China AgriFood Startup Investment
0.8%
0.9% 0.5%
1.7%
eGrocery
2.5%
In-Store Retail & Restaurant Tech
15.9% Premium Branded Foods &
Restaurants
Agribusiness Marketplaces
45.8%
Midstream Technologies
Farm Mgmt SW, Sensing & IoT
31.9% Ag Biotechnology
Others
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 19DEALS BY CATEGORY
Most Active Categories
• Deal activity was heavily concentrated in 104
three downstream categories: eGrocery,
In-Store Retail & Restaurant Tech, and eGrocery $814.1 26
Premium Branded Foods & Restaurants.
• eGrocery was a tale of two faces: New
In-Store Retail &
niche players such as Mengzhu only $564.8 55
Restaurant Tech
focusing on children’s food entering the
market on one side, and more established
players raising large rounds with MissFresh Premium Branded
$283.1 60
at Series C and Yiguo at Series D raising a Foods & Restaurants
combined $630 million raised.
• In the active In-Store Retail & Restaurant Agribusiness
$43.9 12
Tech space, unmanned Stores and Marketplaces
vending machines were the major driving
force.
Midstream
$30.6 6
• Premium Branded Foods & Restaurants Technologies
had the largest number of deals but the Financing | $Millions
valuation per deal was small. Farm Mgmt SW, Upstream Financing
$16.7 3 Downstream Financing
Sensing & IoT
# Deals
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 20DEALS BY CATEGORY
Top 10 eGrocery Deals
• Most top deals in this category
focused on fresh produce. Missfresh $330.0
• Yiguo, founded in 2005, reached
Yiguo $300.0
Series D with Alibaba support.
MissFresh, started in 2014, quickly Fresh Market $43.9
caught up and completed $330
million in Series C. Fresh Legend $30.3
• Startups targeting niche products
Fresh Mart $30.3
took a share: Netease Weiyang
selling premium pork and Bliss Mall
Netease Weiyang $24.2
only selling cakes.
Urfresh $15.6
Day Day Cook $15.0
Bliss Mall $14.5
Lady Penguin $3.0
Saohuo $3.0
$M financing
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 21DEALS BY CATEGORY
Top 10 In-Store Retail & Restaurant Tech Deals
• Top deals were dominated by
unmanned stores or vending MissFresh Bianligou $144.0
machines, with the only exception
being Dajialai, a restaurant Ubox $80.3
management software.
• Vingoojuice, an automated orange Vingoojuice $60.6
juice vending machine, raised $60.6
million in investment and quickly Xingbianli $57.6
expanded into more than 170 cities
by the end of 2017. Four million
MissFresh Bianligou $53.0
cups were reportedly sold per
month.
ABLife $30.3
• eGrocer MissFresh joined the
unmanned store wave. Bianligou, xedaojia $30.3
the vending machine selling snacks
and beverage under MissFresh
Imxiaomai $18.2
combined Series A and Series B
funding rounds together raising
$200 million. Dajialai $15.2
Bingo Box $15.1 $M financing
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 22DEALS BY CATEGORY
Top 10 Premium Branded Foods & Restaurants Deals
• Increasingly health-conscious
consumers paved the way for Yizhibi Laiyang Pear Juice $140.0
popular brands like Yizhibi, a pear
juice company that successfully Spice Spirit $22.0
raised $140 million. Easy Stew raised
$4.5 million to sell edible bird's nest,
Hot & Hot $21.2
a Chinese delicacy and health food
tradition.
Panda Beer $18.0
• Keeping with the consumption
upgrade theme, investors helped
The Tough Little Lobster $17.5
bring iconic foods like crayfish from
street vendors to premium
Greybox Coffee $15.2
restaurants, including The Tough
Little Lobster and Hot & Hot.
Naixuecha $15.2
• The popular artisanal coffee
experience now inspired a revamp
Seesaw Coffee $6.8
of the traditional tea experience,
with brands like Naixuecha bringing
modern design, western dessert, Easy Stew $4.5
and tea into one package that
Chinese consumers could relate to. Let's Soup Party $4.5 $M financing
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 23Deals by Stage
YEAR IN REVIEW
Deal Volume and Activity by Stage
600.0 Financing | $Millions
90
Number of Deals
77 76 80
500.0
70
400.0 $424 60
$480 $408
50
300.0 $330
40
200.0 30
17
20
100.0 $117
10
3 4
$0.0 0
Seed A B C D
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 25YEAR IN REVIEW
10 Notable Deals at Seed Stage
• Vending machine startup Xiaomaigui
raised the largest Seed Stage round,
Xiaomaigui $6.8
receiving $6.8 million investment from
large electrical appliance manufacturer
Easy Stew $4.5
Midea Group.
Huasong Seeds $4.5
• Easy Stew, which makes edible bird's nest,
a Chinese delicacy; potato seedling Jian 24 $4.5
company Huasong Seeds; and unmanned
store Jian 24 each raised $4.5 million. ITR $3.0
• ITR, an AR kitchen tech startup raised $3
Superbento $3.0
million while Kitchen voice recognition
startup Summba raised $2.3 million.
Saohuo $3.0
• eGrocer of imported food brands Saohuo
and eGrocer for kitchenware Jicanchu Summba $2.3
raised $3 million and $1.8 million
respectively. Sonetto $1.8
Financing | $Millions
Jicanchu $1.8 Upstream Financing
Downstream Financing
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 26YEAR IN REVIEW
10 Notable Deals in Series A
• Yizhibi, which has reinvigorated the Yizhibi Laiyang Pear Juice $140.0
traditional pear juice beverage, raised $140
million, the largest funding at Series A. Xingbianli $57.6
• Xingbianli, an unmanned store selling
snacks, cooked food and beverages, MissFresh Bianligou $53.0
received $57.6 million. eGrocery Missfresh
responded with its own vending machine for Fresh Legend $30.3
snacks and beverage raising $53 million in
Series A. Fresh Mart $30.3
• Fresh Legend and Fresh Mart, both selling
Netease Weiyang $24.2
fresh produce, as well as Netease, an online
pork provider, each completed over $20
Imxiaomai $18.2
million in investment despite different
product and geographic focus.
Panda Beer $18.0
• Craft beer brand Panda Brew, premium tea
store Naixuecha and artisanal coffee brand Dajialai $15.2
Greybox coffee all had successful Series A of Financing | $Millions
over $15 million. Greybox coffee $15.2 Upstream Financing
Downstream Financing
• Dajialai, a restaurant software startup,
received $15.2 million. Naixuecha $15.2
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 27Investor Activity
DEALS BY CATEGORY
Most Active Venture Funds
• The most prolific was ZhenFund,
Zhenfund 11
China’s largest seed fund set up by two
founders of China’s educational group Bits x Bites 8
New Oriental School, with 11 agrifood
Tencent 8
investments, mostly in In-Store Retail &
Restaurant Tech. Matrix 7
• Bits x Bites was the only food tech-
Tiantu Capital 5
focused fund in China backing eight IDG 5
projects covering indoor farming,
Alibaba 4
blockchain for food supply chain,
insect protein, and other food tech Chinaccelerator 3
sectors.
Baidu 3
• Big VCs with diversified portfolios such Haier 3
as Matrix Partners China, IDG and
GGV 3
Tiantu Capital were active in mid-to-
later stages. In 2017, they chose Legend Capital 3
startups in In-Store Retail & Restaurant
Yunqi Partners 3
Tech, Premium Branded Foods and
Restaurants, and eGrocery. Sinovation Ventures 3
JD 3
Number of Deals
Projects invested by BAT’s controlled subsidiaries or venture arms are counted as BAT’s projects
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 29BAT INVOLVEMENTS
BAT Involved Investments
BAT Company Name Category Round Size ($ million) Funding Type/Round
Jijia Catering In Store Retail & Restaurant Tech 1.5 Seed
QuiXmart In Store Retail & Restaurant Tech Undisclosed Seed
Day Day Cook eGrocery 15 B
Yiguo eGrocery 300 D
Waimai Baidu Restaurant Marketplace 800 M&A
Ele.me Restaurant Marketplace 1,000 M&A
Saohuo eGrocery 3.0 Seed
Kangpinhui eGrocery Undisclosed A
Netease Weiyang eGrocery 24.2 A
Bliss Mall eGrocery 14.5 A
Yashilian Agribusiness Marketplace Undisclosed A
Xiangcheng Hudong In Store Retail & Restaurant Tech Undisclosed A
MissFresh eGrocery 330 C
MissFresh Bianligrou In Store Retail & Restaurant Tech 53 A
Meituan & Dianping Restaurant Marketplace 4,000 M&A
Super Species eGrocery Undisclosed M&A
Yi Tunnel In Store Retail & Restaurant Tech Undisclosed Seed
Ganlai In Store Retail & Restaurant Tech Undisclosed B
Meiweibuyongdeng In Store Retail & Restaurant Tech Undisclosed C
* BAT investments include projects indirectly invested by their subsidiaries or venture capital arms.
AGRIFOOD CHINA FUNDING REPORT | AGFUNDER.COM 30M&A
AGRIFOOD EXITS
Strategic Investment and Mergers & Acquisitions
Company Name Targets Business Round Size ($ million) Acquirers or Investors
Zhongnongwang Agribusiness Marketplace 46.5 Zall Group
Daojia eGrocery 61.7 Yum! China
Guoxiaomei & Tomato
In Store Retail & Restaurant Tech 160 IDG, FreesVC, Bluerun VC
Convenience Store
Waimai Baidu Restaurant Marketplace 800 Ele. me
Ele.me Restaurant Marketplace 1000 Alibaba
Tencent, Sequoia, Tiger, GIC Singapore,
CPPIC, United Arab Emirates-China Joint
Meituan & Dianping Restaurant Marketplace 4000 Investment Fund, Trustbridge Partners,
Coatue Management, FountainVest
Partners
Super Species eGrocery Undisclosed Tencent
Farm Management Software,
ACSM Undisclosed Qualcomm Ventures
Sensing & IoT
51snackbar In Store Retail & Restaurant Tech Undisclosed Xingbianli
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