YunQuNa, a China-based logistics services marketplace operator backed by conglomerate Sumitomo, closed a $70m series round yesterday.
Venture capital firm Sequoia Capital China and hedge fund manager Coatue Management co-led the round, which also featured VC firm Source Code Capital, according to the company’s WeChat account.
Founded in 2014 and operated by freight and logistics services provider Shanghai Huihang Jiexun Network Technology, YunQuNa runs an online marketplace for the carriage of international container freight and the provision of associated services.
YunQuNa’s software harnesses big data and artificial intelligence (AI) to offer up services from more than 100 logistics providers, mainly facilitating deliveries between China and Latin America through branches at Chinese and Mexican ports.
The company plans to expand globally this year, with the series C capital to support the launch of outposts in countries including the US, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and Djibouti.
The funding will also help YunQuNa enhance its operational efficiency by developing its technological capabilities in areas including AI, big data and cloud computing.
The series C round is YunQuNa’s sixth, according to China Money Network. Those include a Coatue Management-led series B2 round in February 2019 that was sized in the eight-digit dollar range.
Sumitomo had provided an undisclosed amount of what China Money Network described as series B1 funding for YunQuNa in January 2019 through subsidiary Sumitomo Corporation Equity Asia.
YunQuNa’s earlier investors also include VC firm DCM Ventures and China Merchants Innovation Investment, the VC arm of banking firm China Merchants Bank.