Groupon has launched its China-language discount coupon website GaoPeng.com in a first deal for social messaging company Tencent’s $760m Collaboration (or Industrial Win-Win) corporate venturing fund launched in January.
Newswire Reuters said the site was funded by Groupon, Tencent and venture capital firm Yunfeng Capital, which was started by the founder of online auction company Alibaba.com.
Groupon in January raised $950m in its series D round from a consortium including Digital Sky Technologies (DST), a Russia-based internet investment company also backed by Tencent.
Both DST and Tencent have a common shareholder in South Africa-based media group Naspers’ corporate venturing unit.
Last year Groupon had turnover of $760m, 23 times the $33m it sold in 2009, according to an internal memo sent out by Groupon chief executive Andrew Mason in early January and seen by news provider Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
According to the memo, one third of last year’s revenue came from outside of the US and Mason hopes Groupon will pull in "billions" in 2011, the WSJ said.