Chinese social networking site Renren has invested in another fin-tech startup, as they grow farther and farther from their roots in social.
Jinfuzi, a Shenzhen-based “online supermarket” of financial products, announced a US$50 million in Series B round of funding led by Renren and joined by existing investor Sequoia Capital. (Chinese source) Sequoia led the company’s $10 million USD A series investment in 2014.
Founded in 2012, Jinfuzi owns and operates as an online wealth management platform. Jinfuzi, which means ‘golden ax’ in Chinese, gained traction in the investment world last year when China’s A shares were heating up. The website lets investors borrow up to 10 times their principals with only 2,000 yuan ($322) down in order to buy stocks and futures.
“Renren decided to invest in Jianfuzi, because we acknowledged the company is strategically well positioned in the internet finance sector. In its professionalism and implementation, Renren together with Jinfuzi can have great synergy,” Renren COO Liu Jian said.
Renren has planned to invest a total $500 million in financial tech, and has already invested more than half of that amount. The company had a sharp change of strategy when a string of failures saw the company’s social brand and value plummet. They have since aimed to diversify their investments in order to stabilize the company.
Renren’s current fin-tech investments include San Mateo-based stock trading site Motif, crowd-funding real estate site Fundraise and student loan service Social Finance Inc. This April, Renren led a $70 million USD investment in the provider of P2P mortgages, LendingHome. RenRen has also seen investments in different sectors under CEO Joseph Chen, including private social messaging app Yik Yak and van hailing app GoGoVan.
Image Credit: Jinfuzi.com