2017-07-31 14:07:44
DotC United Group announced that it raised $350 million in Series B round of funding led by Zeus Entertainment (002354) in June. The round converted Avazu Inc., previously completely owned by Zeus Entertainment, into a wholly owned subsidiary company of DotC United Group. No longer does Zeus Entertainment (002354) control the stock share of Avazu.
Under the terms of the official announcement, Zeus Entertainment (002354) agreed on the price of RMB2.215 billion to sell 100 percent stock share of Avazu Inc., as investment to DotC United Group. After the completion of the round, Zeus Entertainment (002354) holds a 30.58 percent share in DotC United Group, which turns the company into the second largest shareholder of DotC United Group. In the meantime, the original shareholder Shi Yi being the actual controller of DotC United Group remain unchanged.
DotC United Group was established in 2015, the name of the company was inspired by the Commencement address delivered by Steve Jobs in Stanford University:
You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.
DotC United Group is a company dedicated to global development, operation and commercial monetization of mobile applications, including input applications, system security applications, network security applications and entertainment applications. The company’s primary goal is mobile globalization, with a huge, active and fast growing number of users being its core assets.
So far, DotC United Group has launched several products in overseas market, including “Swift WiFi”, “Flash Keyboard”, and “SUPO Cleaner”. All of these applications have gained good reputations owning to the advanced technology and operation principles the company has been holding. Both Swift WiFi (Wifi Sharing Platform) and Flash Keyboard (Android Input) have ranked among Google global application recommendation list. By the end of March 2017, DotC United Group’s operational applications have gained 450 million users worldwide, and still counting.
In July 2016, DotC United raised RMB300 million in Series A round of financing led by Banyan Capital, Chengwei Capital, Morningside Venture Capital, Bertelsmann Asia Investments, and Lightspeed.
This B round represents a new chapter and a higher level to DotC United Group. Considering the future business strategies, DotC United Group now focuses on two principal business: programmatic advertising and global application development & operation. On account of the rapid pace of commercialization and monetization, DotC United Group is mapping out listing abroad in the next few years.