China-based genomics technology developer QitanTech received RMB400m ($63m) in series B funding yesterday from investors including internet company Baidu and insurance provider Sunshine Insurance Group.
GL Ventures, the venture capital arm of private equity group Hillhouse Capital, co-led the round with CDH Venture and Growth Capital, a fund owned by asset manager CDH Investments.
Alwin Capital, BioTrack Capital, Gaorong Capital, Huagai Capital, Yinxinggu Capital and ZGC Co-Innovation Fund filled out the investors. Baidu was represented by its Baidu Ventures unit and its stake stands at 2.9%, while Sunshine invested through asset management vehicle Riverhead Capital.
QitanTech is working on devices leveraging nanopore array technology, which helps sequence nucleic acids including DNA and RNA directly from biological samples. It will use the funding to accelerate product innovation and commercialisation efforts and release a new model of equipment later this year.
The company had raised in excess of $16m from Alwin Capital, Gaorong Capital, Yinxinggu Capital and ZGC Co-Innovation Fund in a May 2020 series A round.
Baidu Ventures, Alwin Capital and ZGC Co-Innovation Fund backed a $5.7m round for QitanTech in 2019, after the company had secured roughly $3m from Baidu Ventures and Tsinghua Technology Transfer Fund the year before.
Tsinghua Technology Transfer Fund had previously joined QM Angel Investment and Empower Investment for a 2017 round sized at over $400,000.
