BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese grocery app Dingdong Maicai has raised $330 million, advisor Cygnus Equity said on Wednesday, amid a surge of fundraising in the sector.
The so-called D-plus round of fundraising led by the SoftBank Vision Fund followed the vegetable e-commerce platform’s $700 million D round completed last month, bringing its total recent fundraising to over $1 billion.
Online delivery platforms in China have been raising funds to compete in a crowded sector that got a boost from pandemic-induced demand for home shopping, with food delivery giant Meituan recently raising $10 billion.
Fresh produce is an especially hot sector, with giants Alibaba Group and Pinduoduo stepping up their offerings, attracted by the huge market and high-frequency consumption.
Cygnus, a boutique Chinese investment bank, was Dingdong Maicai’s advisor in both rounds and also invested in the April round.
It did not elaborate on how the startup will use the funds, and Dingdong Maicai could not immediately be reached for comment.
Established in 2017 in Shanghai, Dingdong Maicai’s investors include Sequoia Capital China and Tiger Global Management.
(Reporting by Sophie Yu and Tony Munroe; Editing by Stephen Coates)
