Tencent-backed comics app Kuaikan turns unicorn in US$240 million funding round

Kuaikan World (Beijing) Technology’s latest funding round elevated it to unicorn status
The US$240 million investment raised by the start-up is the largest fundraising deal in China’s comics industry

Start-ups

Bloomberg

Published: 4:47pm, 23 Aug, 2021

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Kuaikan World (Beijing) Technology, the comics app operator backed by Tencent Holdings, has raised US$240 million in a new funding round that elevated it to unicorn status, giving the start-up a boost as competition in China’s online entertainment arena intensifies.

The investment is the largest fundraising deal in China’s comics industry, with participation from CCB International, South Korean app marketplace One Store and existing backers like Tencent and Coatue Management, the Beijing-based start-up said in a statement on Monday.

The Series F round was conducted at a valuation of around US$1.25 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter, asking to not be identified discussing private information.

Kuaikan was founded in 2014 by cartoonist Anni Chen as a digital library for original comics by Chinese artists. It has since attracted the backing of big names like ByteDance and Sequoia Capital China.

Anni Chen, founder and chief executive of Chinese comics app operator Kuaikan World (Beijing) Technology. Photo: SCMP

Tencent ploughed US$125 million into Kuaikan in 2019. The comics app has grown its monthly active users to almost 50 million from 40 million two years ago, according to the new tech unicorn.

The start-up did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the valuation.

Kuaikan competes with the likes of Bilibili for the eyeballs and wallets of China’s youth, tapping into their passion for animation, comics and games titles. The app hosts works by Chen’s fellow artists across China and generates the bulk of its sales from subscriptions, intellectual property licensing and advertising.

Revenue for the start-up’s 2020 financial year grew 27 per cent to 437.7 million yuan (US$67.4 million), while gross profit surged 42 per cent to 133.2 million yuan, according to an investor deck viewed by Bloomberg News.