Chinese Startup Secures Lion’s Share Of $272 Million Raised

Investment in B2B FinTech startups came through a variety of channels this week, from venture capital to growth equity. In total, backers placed $273 million across companies operating in alternative finance, treasury management, software-as-a-service (SaaS) and B2B sales tech. But one company in China took home an impressive two-thirds of the total funding raised this week, an investment that will help the firm land a slice of a $1.6 trillion market.

Software-as-a-Service

Eden
The B2B SaaS market is diverse. Investors recently showed support for office management firm Eden’s business model, which uses software to help companies with IT and other tech support. The company announced $10 million in Series A funding this week led by Fifth Wall Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Y Combinator Continuity Fund, Canvas Ventures, Comcast Ventures, Eniac Ventures and other existing backers, according to reports. In addition to providing software to businesses, Eden is also building out its digital marketplace — a platform through which businesses can connect with third-party vendors to gain access to services like office management, cleaning, repairs and more. Reports said Eden plans to use the investment to expand into new markets and hire more engineers.

B2B Sales

Drift
Marketing and sales platform Drift raised $32 million from General Catalyst, HubSpot and Sequoia Capital. The company has developed specialized bots allowing brands and companies to communicate with each other, targeting conversation between the enterprises rather than requiring them to fill out a form if they’re interested in a deal with a brand. Drift said it will use its funding to hire more employees this year, open a new office in San Francisco and continue to develop and expand its automated B2B services for its sales and marketing teams. The company recently launched Drift for Enterprise, enabling brands to customize messages to Fortune 100 companies and certain potential clients.

Klue
In addition to the $4 million in fresh funding it just announced, Canada-based software company Klue has officially launched to provide “competitive intelligence” to B2B sales teams. OMERS Ventures led the funding, reports said, which also saw participation from the Vancouver Founder Fund, SK Ventures and various angel investors. Klue automatically collects information shared across various platforms within the enterprise —  like Slack and Salesforce — and uses it and machine learning technology to provide a competitive edge to sales teams.

Supply Chain Management

YH
B2B FinTechs across a range of specialties enjoyed fresh funding this week, but YH, a Chinese supply chain management company, blew the competition out of the water thanks to a $182 million Series A funding round, which, according to reports, means YH is now valued at $1 billion. YH provides supply chain management tools in a country with a massive logistics market that saw $1.6 trillion in revenue last year. The company said it will use the funds to expand its logistics and delivery services not only in China, but across Southeast Asia, Russia and the Middle East. Private equity firms Yonghua Capital and Co-Energy Finance led the funding, and also saw participation from Stone Capital, Tangrong Capital and Shenzhen Grandland Group, reports noted.

Alternative Finance

Qupital
Based in Hong Kong, Qupital provides an invoice financing solution that recently caught the attention of Alibaba. The eCommerce company invested in Qupital earlier this year and is again providing funds to the firm. According to reports, Qupital gained an undisclosed portion of a combined $10 million from the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, which has also invested in five other startups. In an interview with The Street, founder and director Andy Chan said he hoped to turn Qupital into a unicorn and heighten confidence in Hong Kong’s FinTech startup community.

Treasury Management

Kyriba
Treasury management company Kyriba may have landed $45 million in growth equity this week following a Series D funding round last year, but according to reports, the company isn’t calling this a Series E round. Sumeru Equity Partners led the growth equity round, reports said, and Kyriba plans to use the funding to promote growth for the firm and focus on product development.