NewLink Group, a China-based motoring services platform developer backed by electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Nio and electronics manufacturer Xiaomi, raised $200m in funding yesterday.
Private equity firm Bain Capital led the close, which included Joy Capital, the venture capital firm known as Yuyue Capital in Chinese. The transaction was facilitated by investment banking firm China Renaissance.
The funding lifted the size of the company’s latest round to $300m. It disclosed a $100m tranche in February this year led by financial services firm China Merchants Bank’s CMB International unit and backed by Nio Capital, the investment arm of Nio, as well as Joy Capital and Hongtai Aplus’s Guodiao Hongtai Fund.
Founded in 2016, NewLink has built an artificial intelligence and big data-equipped internet-of-things platform which helps drivers find the nearest petrol or EV charging stations in more than 1,700 Chinese cities and towns.
Nio Capital had joined Xiaomi, Joy Capital and Korea Investment Partners in a $129m series D round for the company in July 2020 led by CICC Capital, a subsidiary of China International Capital Corporation, to bring its total funding to $366m.
Joy Capital had led NewLink’s $110m series C round in late 2019, investing alongside Nio Capital and Korea Investment Partners.
Blueflame Capital, China Construction Bank, China National Small Medium Enterprises Development Fund, GSR United Capital and Joincap Holding Group are also among NewLink’s shareholders, as are Oriental Fortune Capital, Pusu Capital Sino Pacific Capital, Qingdao Global Wealth Centre Development and Construction, Rizhao Caijin Investment Group and Zero2IPO.
