ETCP, the China-based creator of a smart parking app, has secured RMB1.55bn ($230m) in a series B round led by Ffan.com, an e-commerce subsidiary of conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, China Money Network reported today.
Founded in 2012, ETCP has developed an app that uses big data and cloud computing technology to help users find, reserve and pay for parking spaces in advance.
The company operates in 10 Chinese cities, where it has formed partnerships with a total of about 5,000 parking garages located in office and residential buildings, shopping centres and transportation hubs.
The round comes after ETCP raised $50m from automotive e-commerce and information firm BitAuto.com and venture capital firms Source Code Capital and Matrix Partners China in 2015.
Ffan made its investment in the wake of a strategic partnership deal it sealed with ETCP in August this year, through which ETCP’s technology will be integrated into the shopping centres run by Dalian Wanda.
Ffan was launched by Wanda in 2014 as a joint venture with China-based internet groups Tencent and Baidu, each of which reportedly committed $800m. However, a regulatory filing in August this year revealed their place in the venture had been taken by a Wanda subsidiary.