China’s leading co-working space UCOMMUNE (previously known as UrWork) just received an additional RMB 110 million strategic investment from the Shenzhen-based Qianhai Wutong Mergers and Acquisitions Funds (前海梧桐并购基金) our sister site TechNode Chinese is reporting (in Chinese). Just two months ago, the startup raised RMB 300 million in a series C funding round led by the same investment firm. UCOMMUNE is expected to value at over RMB 9 billion after the new funding.
UCOMMUNE co-working space (Image Credit: UCOMMUNE)
In 2017, the startup rebranded itself to UCOMMUNE to emphasize on the idea of “community” and to avoid naming disputes with WeWork. After the merger with New Space last April, UCOMMUNE became the largest co-working network in China.
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UCOMMUNE is expanding rapidly into other value-added services. In January, the startup launched UCOMMUNE Academy 优客讲堂, an educational platform that connects high school and college students with entrepreneurs. UCOMMUNE also launched a B2B social network 优鲜集, an enterprise-central social platform to facilitate and build a network between companies, service providers, and investors.
Founded in 2015, UCOMMUNE was the first Chinese co-working space provider to reach unicorn status. The startup has since grown to cover over 100 locations across 33 cities in China, Singapore, London and New York. The company aims to boost the number to 160 locations in 35 cities within the next three years.
China co-working is entering a mature stage, and the industry is getting crowded as local players like naked Hub and global players like WeWork go head-to-head. Last July, naked Hub announced the merger with the Singaporean co-working space JustCo to expand further in Asia. And WeWork also has laid out aggressive plans for China, including opening 4 new locations in early 2018.
