Chinese social e-commerce app Xiaohongshu said it has raised a new round of financing from existing shareholders who increased their stakes in the firm, which a source familiar with the matter said valued the company at as much as $20 billion.
The source said Xiaohongshu, whose name translates to “Little red book” in Chinese, raised $500 million in the round from investors including Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings, Tencent Holdings, Alibaba Group, Genesis Capital and Tiantu Capital.
Xiaohongshu, which has been described as China’s answer to Instagram, declined to comment on the figures or the investors. Details of the fundraising were first reported by Chinese tech outlet 36kr earlier on Monday.
Temasek declined to comment. Tencent, Alibaba, Tiantu Capital and Genesis Capital did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“The current round of financing mainly stems from existing shareholders who increased their stakes in the company. We thank our shareholders for their longstanding trust and continued support,” a Xiaohongshu spokesperson said.
Xiaohongshu allows users to post product reviews and share shopping experiences. Earlier this month, it was among apps ordered by Chinese regulators to rectify what they called an excessive collection of personal information.
• Reuters with additional editing by Jim Pollard
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