Cloud Service UCloud Bags Landmark Series C Funding for Data Center Construction

Chinese cloud service provider UCloud announced today that it has landed nearly US$100 million of Series C financing led by Legend Capital with the participation of VMS Legend Investment Fund, DCM, Bertelsmann and GX Capital.

This is largest capital injection in China’s IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) sector so far. The company had previously received Series A financing in 2013 and a US$50 million B Round in June 2014.

UCloud disclosed this funding will be used in software development, big data and recruitment. A recruitment drive headed by company CEO Ji Xin is on its way to the U.S. for leading talent, the firm added.

Founded in 2012 by former Tencent execs, UCloud specializes in game hosting and related cloud services. It now serves some of the top revenue generating games in China, as well as clients in various industries of e-commerce, mobile internet, SaaS, among others.

With data centers in the U.S. and Hong Kong, UCloud helps Chinese clients support their overseas operations in North America and Southeast Asia. UCloud has entered into partnership with NTT Com Asia to upgrade its Asia-Pacific data center.

The funding will boost the company’s expansion into further areas of business. There is an interesting change in China where cloud services are taking on a new role as incubators for startups that use their services. As one of the pioneers of this trend, UCloud has established an incubator program in Shanghai. The reception of new capital will fuel UCloud’s support for startups and accelerate its cooperation with other startup services around the country. The cloud service also set eyes on a series of hot sectors like big data, online education, O2O and online finance.

Image credit: UCloud

Editing by Mike Cormack (@bucketoftongues)