Participated · Series A · Oct 2021

周子未来 (Zhouzi Weilai) develops cell-cultured meat through end-to-end capabilities spanning basic research, industrialization and regulatory work. The team has achieved multiple technical breakthroughs including multi‑generation proprietary culture media, serum‑free media development, and significant cost reductions in cell proliferation and differentiation. It has advanced to pilot production with 100‑liter bioreactors and is described as the only domestic company able to reach 100L‑scale cultivation. The company plans staged scale‑up (100L → 500L → 1,000L) and will establish a Shanghai R&D center to accelerate industrialization. 周子未来 expects to deliver market‑competitive cultured‑meat products in 2024–2025 and target large meat consumption markets. The firm has received industry recognition and awards such as China Food Technology’s Top 10 Progress and MIT Technology Review’s “50 Smart Companies.” Joes Future Food is a Nanjing-based cultivated meat startup developing materials and methods for cell-cultured pork. The company focuses initially on pork and says it was spun out of Nanjing Agricultural University in late 2019. It claims to be the first company in China to have successfully produced cell-cultured meat and traces its team's R&D on myoblast induction and stem-cell differentiation back to 2009. Joes Future has developed serum-free culture media, a new cryopreservation method for stem cell cultures, and a cultured meat production scaffold containing a micro-pillar array. The startup raised ¥70 million (~$10.9 million) in Series A financing and previously raised ¥20 million (~$3.13 million) in pre-seed funding from Matrix Partners China. It plans to use the latest funding to grow domestically and internationally, strengthen its core team, increase R&D investment, accelerate commercialization, reduce production costs, and build a pilot production line. Zhouzi Weilai, founded in 2019 and based in Nanjing, develops cell-based (cultured) meat by cultivating animal cells for food. The company is led by Professor Zhou Guanghong at the College of Food Science and Technology of Nanjing Agricultural University and claims to be the first Chinese cell-based meat manufacturer. It raised RMB 20 million (USD 3.1 million) from MatrixPartners China to accelerate development and commercialization. The startup aims to push commercialization and scale production, while the article notes cultured meat faces regulatory, technical, and cost hurdles. Cultured meat production involves cell cultivation and tissue engineering, with key technical areas including cell proliferation and differentiation, 3D scaffolding, and bioreactors. The article positions Zhouzi Weilai within a broader alternative-protein market where plant-based products are more commercially mature and Singapore has become the first country to approve sale of cell-based meat.

Participated · Series A · Aug 2021

MaxAB operates a B2B e-commerce and distribution platform that connects suppliers with traditional grocery retailers across Egypt and Morocco. Since launching in 2018, it has connected suppliers with over 150,000 unique traditional retailers and delivered more than 2.5 million orders. The company focuses on groceries as its core product and has built an asset-heavy distribution operation. MaxAB has expanded into Morocco (now ~10% of its business) and plans to enter Saudi Arabia by the end of 2023. It has also developed fintech offerings for merchants, including a bill-aggregation product that has grown 5x in transaction value year-to-date and a newly launched working capital product. The company has raised multiple rounds (including a $55M Series A last year) and has raised over $100M in total; management says the recent raise was to accelerate opportunities rather than to address a cash shortfall. MaxAB operates a tech-enabled B2B e-commerce marketplace that lets store owners purchase goods, request delivery and logistics, and access customer support. The company was founded in 2018 by Belal El-Megharbel and Mohamed Ben Halim and until recently operated in Egypt. MaxAB plans to expand across the Middle East and North Africa, launch new product offerings and grow its team. Financially, the company completed a $40M Series A tranche and has taken a $15M Series A extension, bringing the total Series A to $55M. MaxAB announced the acquisition of Morocco-based WaystoCap (amount undisclosed) as its first step toward regional scale into the Maghreb. The combined platforms will serve more than 70,000 retailers; WaystoCap alone had grown to a network of over 8,000 Moroccan retailers and at one point processed over $3M in transactions per quarter. MaxAB operates a B2B e-commerce platform that manages procurement, delivery and logistics for traditional food and grocery retailers in Egypt; store owners can purchase goods, request delivery and access customer support through the app. The company owns and operates its own warehouses and fleet, buying and revamping warehouses and using internal technology to manage inventory flow. MaxAB says it services more than 55,000 merchants, delivers over 2,000 unique products and has grown staff to about 1,600 people. Founded in November 2018 and based in Cairo, the team has been launching into a new city roughly every month this year. The startup plans to expand its physical footprint across MENA, hire more talent, scale new supply-chain verticals and roll out embedded finance solutions to offer credit and capital financing via banking and non-banking partners. MaxAB reports improved unit economics during the COVID-19 pandemic as it consolidates its position in the market. MaxAB built a digital platform with apps for store owners, a logistics app for its delivery fleet, and a customer support app to manage procurement and delivery of grocery products. The company operates a large warehouse, a fleet of 60 trucks, and reports a staff of 270 and 9,000 retailers on its app. MaxAB generates revenue from margins on the buy-to-sell price of products and expects scale to improve margins toward profitability. Using the new funding, it plans to expand operations to several additional cities in Egypt and grow its tech team. The startup also aims to offer working-capital financing and data-analytics services to its retail clients. MaxAB was founded in 2018 and is led by CEO Belal El-Megharbel, who co-founded the company with Mohamed Ben Halim.

Participated · Series B · Jan 2017

Lalamove, founded in 2013, is an on-demand logistics platform that began with same-city deliveries and has expanded into freight, enterprise logistics, moving and vehicle rental. It operates in 352 mainland Chinese cities and in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, and recently entered the United States. The company reports about 480,000 monthly active drivers and 7.2 million monthly active users. Lalamove said it experienced a 93% drop in shipment volume at the start of the year due to COVID-19 but then saw a strong rebound, with order volume up 82% year-over-year before Double 11. Prior expansion plans included India, but the app was banned there; the company plans to use new funding to enter more fourth- and fifth-tier Chinese cities. According to Crunchbase data cited in the article, total capital raised now stands at about $976.5 million. Lalamove operates an on-demand logistics and delivery platform that matches business and corporate customers with drivers across vans, cars and motorbikes. The company focuses on B2B customers to capture more favourable economics and customer loyalty compared with consumer-focused peers. It claims to have registered 3 million drivers and served more than 28 million users, and employs about 4,000 people. Lalamove’s core footprint is in Mainland China (covering more than 130 cities) and it also operates in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand, totaling 11 cities outside China. Management says many cities are already profitable and that new locations typically reach profitability within two years; the company is expanding both within China and across Southeast Asia and plans entry to India. Lalamove has begun offering driver services such as financing packages and is developing dedicated corporate offerings to grow revenue streams. Lalamove operates an app-based on-demand logistics service that connects business customers and SMEs with truck, van and motorbike drivers. The company divides its operations between a China unit and an overseas arm covering Hong Kong, Taiwan and parts of Southeast Asia. It operates in roughly 100 cities and has about 15 million registered users and over two million drivers. Larson said a number of cities are already profitable, though the company is not yet net profitable as a whole. Lalamove plans to use new capital to accelerate growth: doubling headcount in its Hong Kong international HQ to 200 staff, matching or exceeding that growth in China, and expanding total reach from ~110 cities to 200–250. The company intends to go deeper into existing Southeast Asian markets (notably Malaysia and Indonesia) rather than enter new continents, and views an IPO as plausible in the future but not imminent. Lalamove operates an on-demand logistics platform that lets users arrange quick deliveries via a fleet of motorbikes and vans, serving both businesses and consumers. The company is present in 50 cities in China and five cities across Southeast Asia and plans to expand to 60 more cities in China and Asia by the end of 2017. Lalamove reports having 500,000 drivers on its platform, five million registered customers and 15 million deliveries completed to date. Management says several cities are already profitable, the company is cash-flow positive and expects to be profitable by the end of the year. The startup has pursued partnerships with platforms such as Line (powering Line Man in Bangkok) and is exploring similar integrations with other large platforms. It was founded as EasyVan and is considering a future public listing within a few years if conditions allow. Lalamove offers iOS and Android apps that let customers book local drivers to transport items across a city, operating like an 'Uber for logistics.' Founded in Hong Kong in December 2013 and known as EasyVan in China and Hong Kong, it operates in six cities including Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Taipei, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The service allows anyone with a valid license and car to sign up as a driver and the company employs over 60 staff. Lalamove has integrated its service into Tencent's WeChat in China and competes with startups such as GoGoVan. The company raised $10 million to strengthen its positions in existing markets, further penetrate China, and expand into more parts of Southeast Asia. Management said it plans to expand into additional cities in the region and expects to raise more capital in 2015.

Participated · Series B · Jul 2016

Baca is an Indonesian news app. The company has raised more than $20 million in a Series B investment, according to its president and director Jimmy Sie. The Series B round included Chinese investors Bertelsmann Asia Investment (BAI), Crystal Stream, and CC Zhuang. The article does not provide operating metrics, a valuation, or use-of-proceeds details. No past funding rounds or founding-year information were disclosed in the coverage. The report also does not detail product roadmaps or future plans.