China-headquartered internet-of-things (IoT) technology producer Tuya has formed a $400m strategic investment fund with hedge fund manager Hillhouse Capital, DealStreetAsia reported today.
Tuya is the creator of an IoT technology platform which enables businesses to access hardware development tools, cloud services and smart business development software in order to build their connected services.
The company floated in the United States last month in a $915m initial public offering in which affiliates of Hillhouse Capital had expressed interest in buying $100m of shares.
Liu Yao, chief financial officer of Tuya, was quoted by DealStreetAsia as saying the company plans to “help IoT enterprises and developers speed up their product development and adopt intelligent business models, while building an open, fully-neutral, third-party platform for IoT developers.
“The creation of Tuya’s IoT industry fund is based on the hope that it will aggregate industry resources to create a multifaceted, third-party IoT developer ecosystem for the search of quality startups with high commercial potential.”
Hillhouse traditionally focused on growth and late-stage deals but has been active in earlier-stage investments through subsidiary GL Ventures since early 2020.
