China-based catering service provider Xiyun International has received $200m in a series A round featuring two spinoffs from e-commerce group Alibaba – Koubei and Ant Financial – Marbridge Consulting reported yesterday.
Ant Financial, the financial services provider formed by Alibaba in 2014, and Koubei, the local services provider formed by Alibaba and Ant, were joined in the round by alternative asset manager CDH Investments.
Xiyun runs an outsourced food supply business that operates some 30,000 food stalls and 2,100 dining halls across businesses, universities, government agencies, hospitals, factories, airports and railway stations.
The company also links catering customers to restaurants and provides a range of associated services such as marketing and customer data analysis, food services training and food safety testing, monitoring and training.
The series A capital will be used for marketing, the enhancement of Xiyun’s food safety services offering and the strengthening of its supply chain, according to China Money Network, which predicted it would also seek to consolidate in a market where many of its competitors are smaller and less well-funded.