The data mining startup identifies an “industrial ecological chain” as one of its key focus areas
In spite of China’s currently-sluggish economy (exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis), Beijing-based MiningLamp Technologies has raised US$300 million in a Series E round, the company said in a statement on Friday, March 27.
MiningLamp, also known as Minglue Technology, is a big data mining and artificial intelligence technology startup.
“The injection of this round of financing can accelerate the progress of Minglue’s empowerment of the digital transformation of the organization and help customers to successfully transform in an era of uncertainty,” said Founder and CEO Wu Minghui in the statement.
He added that “Minglue Technology will focus on the data platform and marketing intelligence platform to create a core competitive product and service portfolio to support the rapid development of the Group’s diverse business.”
The statement mentioned that the investment will be focused on MiningLamp’s data and market intelligence platforms, its core competitive product and service portfolio, research efforts, and customer acquisition.
It also mentioned an “industrial ecological chain” as one of its key focus areas, using a “multiplication” model to work with enterprises and partners to provide end-to-end digital transformation solutions.
The round was led by Chinese conglomerate Tencent Holdings and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings, the statement said. The round also had participation from Sequoia Capital China and China Renaissance.
Tencent Holdings led MiningLamp’s Series D last year, where it raised RMB 2 billion (around US$282 million at current exchange rates). The Series E brings MiningLamp’s total funding in at a little over $786 million.
“Under the circumstances of the economic environment and the downturn of the venture capital market, Minglue Technology reversed the financing and injected a shot of strength into the entire enterprise service industry,” the statement said, referring to ‘black swan events’ (rare and unpredictable events) in 2020.
It also said that MiningLamp will be working with investors Temasek and Chinese video app Kuaishou to tap into international markets, and concentrate efforts in marketing intelligence.
“MiningLamp’s fundraising is a strong boost to the enterprise service industry in general and showcases recognition from investors of the company’s capabilities in intelligent and digital transformation,” Minghui said, according to a report by South China Morning Post (SCMP).
SCMP also reported that MiningLamp’s data analytics tools were being used by at least 200 of last year’s Fortune 500 companies.
The startup was named one of the [MIT Technology Review’s 50 Smartest Companies (TR50)] in 2019, in a list that included big guns Tesla, Bosch, Ant Financial, and Tencent.
