Gfresh, the China-based operator of an e-commerce platform for fresh seafood, has raised $20m in a round backed by representatives of e-commerce firm Alibaba and conglomerate Legend Holdings.
The funding was provided by Riverhill Fund, a venture capital fund in which Alibaba is the largest limited partner, and Legend Capital, a corporate venturing subsidiary of Legend Holdings.
Gfresh’s platform, an online business-to-business marketplace for seafood, was launched in late 2014 and it has since been responsible for more than $200m of sales. Customers can track freight deliveries and access customs information through a real-time data portal.
In addition to securing Legend Capital as an investor, Gfresh will form a strategic relationship with You Shi Guan Jia, an online-to-offline distribution company that is one of the unit’s portfolio companies, and has also signed an agreement with Alibaba subsididary Tmall.
Simon Xie, the founder of Riverhill and a co-founder of Alibaba, will join Gfresh’s board of directors together with Legend Capital executive director Tony Wang.