Operator Raises $15 Million For Chinese Shopping App

Operator, the Chinese startup that is betting Chinese citizens will want to buy American products on its shopping app, raised $15 million in a round of venture funding.

According to a report, the Series B round of venture funding gives the startup a pre-money valuation of $100 million. GGV Capital, which specializes in U.S.-China startups, led the round, and its partner, Hans Tung, will become a board observer. Tung told TechCrunch that Operator’s “mass-market-first approach” and the startup’s understanding of “the value of creating a global company from the start” rather than trying to bolt China onto an app built for the U.S. is what attracted the VCs.

Other investors who took part in the round of funding include Formation8, Morningside Ventures and billionaire Li Ka Shing’s Horizons Ventures. Existing investors Greylock Partners and Expa also took part. In April, Operator raised $10 million, giving it a $40 million pre-valuation.

With Operator’s iOS, Android beta and Facebook Messenger interfaces, users can browse categories, including apparel, shoes, cosmetics, gifts, home goods and electronics, and get them delivered from the closest and lowest-cost source. Users can message a chatbot for help, which will, in turn, connect the user with a human that is deemed an expert in that product category. The human gets a commission on what he or she sells. The idea behind the business its to combine the convenience of shopping online with the personalized experience you get from shopping in physical stores. Operator is focusing on China for its current growth, the report noted.

“We’re trying to pioneer a new type of global commerce,” Operator Chief Executive Robin Chan said in the report. “We’re making commerce borderless.”