BEIJING, Nov 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- China's Airbnb equivalent Xiaozhu.com announced on Tuesday that it has secured 65-million-U.S.-dollar Series C+ and Series D funding, bringing in a total of 150 million U.S. dollars. BAI (Bertelsmann Asia Investments) and Joy Capital have led the funding round. Other investors include Capital Today, Morningside Ventures, and Magic Stone Alternative Investments.
Xiaozhu.com is the largest online house sharing platform in China. Founded in 2012, Xiaozhu so far has 10 million active users and more than 100,000 listings in 301 cities across the country. According to Kelvin Chen Chi, cofounder and CEO of Xiaozhu, the company is expected to deliver a 500% organic growth in 2016. Having finished four major rounds of funding, the platform has now stepped into a new stage of development. "As the leading house sharing platform in China, Xiaozhu will continue lifting its living experiences and revolutionizing the traveling and living habits of the Chinese population," says Kelvin.
Kelvin reveals that the latest funding will go towards Xiaozhu's branding, product innovation, and service chain building. "In addition, Xiaozhu will also expand its overseas markets in Q4 to bring in even more distinct and quality listings to the users."
The business model behind Xiaozhu is held up as the vanguard of the new digital-sharing economy. Through house sharing, Xiaozhu is committed to establishing a sustainable operating model as well as an organic "ecosystem" for the entire industry.
"We're impressed with the innovative work the team has done for the past four years and appreciate how the team has been devoted to bringing the real habit of sharing to the China market," says Annabelle Long, managing partner and founder of BAI. "We are happy to stand with Xiaozhu and truly revolutionize the traveling and living of the Chinese population."
Headquartered in Beijing, Xiaozhu has operating centers set up in 16 cities in China. Earlier this year, the company launched its sanitation project "Xiaozhu Housekeeper" and "Worry-less Check-In Program". To Kelvin's understanding, "quality experiences" is the core competence of the company. "Starting from 2012, going off Airbnb's model, we have made a lot of our own innovations to help lower the threshold of house sharing for the Chinese people. We've been able to see a lot of unique and unexpected demands on Xiaozhu. For instance, there are people who try to find spaces for their family reunion in tier one cities during the Chinese New Year. There are also people who seek to live inside of a book store or even an old chapel. We believe that the sharing economy is in fact helping people to grasp a greater amount of freedom, the freedom to share, and the freedom to live wherever they want," says Kelvin.
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