China-headquartered internet-of-things technology provider Tuya has filed for a $100m initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange that would enable internet group Tencent to exit.
Founded in 2014, Tuya is the creator of a software platform that allows users to manage a large amount of connected smart devices simultaneously. It increased revenue from $106m in 2019 to $180m last year, while cutting its net loss from $66.6m to $37.2m.
The proceeds from the offering will fund research and development in addition to strengthening the company’s technology infrastructure, branding and marketing.
Tuya raised $67m in an April 2018 series C round led by venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and backed by investors including Global Bridge Capital, CMC Master Fund and Quadrille Capital, according to the IPO filing.
China Broadband Capital and Quadrille added $20.5m the following month, before Tencent invested $170m in September 2019 alongside $5m from NEA. China Broadband Capital Partners provided a further $5m two months later.
The company subsequently received $80m in funding from Tencent and $120m from a vehicle called NVMB XIV Holdings last month.
The largest investors in Tuya are NEA, which owns a 23.9% stake, and Tencent, which holds 10.8% of its shares. The other notable shareholders are co-founder and CEO Xueji (Jerry) Wang (16.8%) and co-founder and president Liaohan (Leo) Chen (5.3%).
Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities and China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities have been appointed underwriters for the offering.
