Despite a “capital winter” funding slowdown that shuttered hundreds of Chinese tech startups last year, intelligent hotel solutions provider Xie Zhu Technology says it landed 258 million yuan ($37 million) in Series A funding.
The equity portion of the investment, which totaled 150 million yuan ($21.5 million), was backed by SR Capital, SND Ventures Group and internet-based home decoration platform Qijia.com.
China Merchants Bank and the Bank of Jiangsu provided the 108 million yuan ($15.5 million) debt financing portion.
A translated announcement on the company’s website calls this capital raise “the largest investment and financing event” in China’s hotel intelligence industry.
Suzhou-based Xie Zhu Technology utilizes artificial intelligence of things (AIoT) to cultivate hotel guest room systems such as smart door locks, smart lighting and smart air-conditioning.
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Since launching in 2015, the company has provided solutions to 8,000 hotels in China and enhanced more than 350,000 rooms.
Xie Zhu Technology says it will use the funding to develop new technology, expand into new markets in Southeast Asia and prepare for a potential IPO in 2020.
The Financial Times reported that 336 technology startups in China, including numerous unicorns, closed in 2019 due a venture capital funding shortage and sluggish domestic economy.
“In the context of the ‘capital winter’ and the economic situation,” says the company according to a translated announcement on its website, “it is particularly valuable to successfully complete the round of financing.”