Legend Capital, the venture capital firm formed by conglomerate Legend Holdings, has led a $100m series B round for China-based community buying platform developer Tongcheng Life, Tencent News Yixian has reported.
Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI), a corporate venturing vehicle for media group Bertelsmann, also participated in the round, as did venture capital funds Engage Capital and ZhenFund.
Founded in 2018, Tongcheng Life operates a family goods-focused e-commerce platform, providing products such as fresh foods and ingredients along with general household items. Local users can club together to buy items in bulk in order to save money.
The company was incubated by LY.com, the online travel services provider also known as Tongcheng. It received approximately $1.5m from Tongcheng’s Zhongchuang Fund in late 2018 according to Sohu, and added an eight-figure renminbi amount (RMB10m = $1.4m) from Tongcheng and internet group Tencent shortly afterwards.
Tongcheng Life added an eight-figure renminbi amount of pre series-A funding from Tongcheng Capital, fruit producer Baiguoyuan, ZhenFund, Welight Capital and Oriza Seed Capital in May this year.
BAI subsequently joined Engage Capital, ZhenFund, Welight Capital, Oriza Holdings and GSR Ventures to supply an eight-figure dollar amount for Tongcheng Life in a series A round that closed the following month.
