China-based online pharmacy marketplace 360 Haoyao has raised RMB100m ($15.2m) in a series A round featuring telecommunications firm Softbank and pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, Marbridge Consulting reported yesterday.
The corporates invested through their respective local investment units, SB China Capital and Lilly Asia Ventures. Other unnamed investors reportedly also contributed capital to the round.
The funding was secured at the end of 2015, but 360 Haoyao chose to withhold the information until now to avoid attention during its early development stages.
Founded in August 2015, 360 Haoyao is a subsidiary of internet security company Qihoo 360 Technology. It was originally known as 360 Jiankang but rebranded in March 2016.
On the consumer end, 360 Haoyao operates an e-commerce marketplace for pharmaceutical products such as medicines, supplements and cosmetics. On the business side, the company offers a warehouse, order and supply chain management system to its 150 clients.
360 Haoyao will use the funding to strengthen its market position. The platform competes with e-commerce group Alibaba’s healthcare subsidiary, Alibaba Health Information Technology.