Qiming Pulse Monthly Newsletter - Sep 2023

What's New at Qiming

Qiming Held the 7th Training Session of China Rural Entrepreneur Support Program

Qiming recently held the 7th training session of China Rural Revitalization Entrepreneur Support Program at Mengdingshan Institute in Sichuan Province, with the participation of 49 outstanding rural entrepreneurs. To empower entrepreneurs with knowledge and experience, Qiming's investment team gave a series of lectures on entrepreneurship, organizational structure and equity financing, e-commerce industry mapping and trends, and growth trajectory for startups, among other topics.

In a keynote speech, Duane Kuang, Qiming's Founding Managing Partner highlighted that rural revitalization does not have a fixed model and called for the Qiming team to take this opportunity to learn from rural entrepreneurs and understand their difficulties, ideas and needs, continuing to provide support in the future.

In December 2021, Qiming and the China Rural Development Foundation jointly launched the China Rural Revitalization Entrepreneur Support Program, which aims to promote innovation in rural industrial development and social services, training and empowering 2,000 rural entrepreneurs.

Qiming and Portfolio Company Transwarp Awarded Outstanding Cases of Future Sustainable Investment 2023

At the 14th Global PE Forum organized by BPEA, Qiming's China Rural Revitalizaiton Entrepreneur Support Program and Transwarp won the honor of Outstanding Cases of Future Sustainable Investment. The selected cases focus on how capital can empower industries to realize transformation and breakthroughs through new technologies, business models or industries, creating a far-reaching positive impact on the environment and society.

Qiming Won Several Awards in the China PE/VC Industry Award 2022-2023

Qiming was selected among the Top 20 VC Firms in China, Top 20 Active Investors in China Healthcare and other categories in the China PE/VC Industry Award 2022-2023. This award was launched by Global PE Forum in 2014, and has joined hands with Caixin Data to create an authoritative industry list since 2016.

Portfolio Highlights

Financing

Tuhu Car Successfully Listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange

Tuhu Car, China's leading one-stop car service platform, successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. As an early investor, Qiming invested in Tuhu Car's Series B, C and E rounds since 2014. The successful IPO today is also the seventh IPO that Qiming has welcomed since 2023.

Founded in 2011, Tuhu Car has become China's leading car service platform integrating both online and offline operations. Utilizing a customer-centric model and strong supply chain, Tuhu Car provides digitalized on-demand customer experience and caters to the diverse needs of car owners, building a full-service platform comprised of car owners, suppliers, service stores and others.

As of the first half of 2023, Tuhu Car has more than 100 million registered online users, with an average MAU over 10 million, making it the largest car owner community gathered by automotive service providers in China. In addition, Tuhu Car has more than 5,100 Tuhu Car stores and over 20,000 cooperative stores, covering most prefecture-level cities in China.

Huimei Technology Completes Series D Financing

Healthcare AI solution provider Huimei Technology announced the completion of over RMB 300 million in Series D financing. Qiming previously led the company's Series C round and continues to invest in this round. Huimei has developed a series of medical AI products utilizing AI technology, the latest clinical diagnosis and treatment knowledge and rich medical data, effectively improving the quality and efficiency of medical services.

Rox Motors Receives $1 Billion Strategic Investment

Rox Motors received a $1 billion strategic investment. The funds will be allocated towards the R&D of all-aluminum vehicle bodies, integrated die-casting technology, and a short-cycle smart manufacturing factory project.

Technology & Consumer

Hesai Technology reached a partnership with Webasto, a leading global automotive supplier of roof systems. Hesai will provide automotive lidar sensors to Webasto for its Roof Sensor Module for passenger cars with ADAS. Hesai’s AT128 long range lidar has been integrated in Webasto’s current Roof Sensor Module, which features several cameras and lidars. Hesai also announced a partnership with FAW Group to create the world's first in-cabin LIDAR Smart Driving solution, and that Red Flag's next-generation flagship all-electric model will be the first to utilize Hesai's automotive-grade, ultra-thin, far-range LIDAR, the ET25, with mass production deliveries of the new model expected in the first half of 2025.

Dr. Tan Huan, IET fellow, recipient of the IEEE Robotics Society's Young Scientist Award, and Co-CTO of UBTECH will chair the 33rd IEEE RO-MAN conference, and UBTECH will be deeply involved in hosting the conference. The 33rd IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (IEEE RO-MAN 2024) will be held in Pasadena, Los Angeles.

Kingsware won the bid for the RPA(Robotic Process Automation) project of Guosheng Securities - the second collaboration between these two companies. Kingsware will provide technology solutions to help reshape business processes and improve overall operational efficiency and digital intelligence level. The company also partnered with Sino Everbrilliant to jointly promote the in-depth application of intelligent operation and maintenance in finance, government and enterprises, medical care, commercial chains and other industries.

Hyperstrong brought a full series of flagship energy storage products, including liquid-cooled energy storage systems, liquid-cooled outdoor cabinets, and household energy storage systems to the RE+2023 International Solar Energy Exhibition recently held in Las Vegas, one of the most influential trade shows in the sector.

WeRide's Smart Driving Software obtained Automotive SPICE? Capability Level 2 Certification (ASPICE CL2) by UL Solutions, a world-renowned certification body, representing that the quality of WeRide's software development has reached international standards. In China, WeRide has received approval to carry out autonomous driving tests on highways in Beijing, expanding the scope of application of WeRide's technology.

DeepWay signed order agreements with a number of companies, including Shandong Binzhou Jiaotong Transportation Group, Shouguang Chengda Transportation, and Shandong Sinotrans Qilu Logistics. Up to now, the total number of DeepWay smart new energy heavy truck orders has exceeded 1,000 units.

Tongdun Technology passed the CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) level 5 assessment and certification, signifying that the company has reached the international level in organizational capacity, software technology R&D, project management, and delivery of solutions.

Healthcare

Insilico Medicine secured a major partnership with Exelixis with an $80 million upfront payment. Exelixis will have an exclusive, worldwide license to develop and commercialize ISM3091, a potentially best-in-class USP1 inhibitor.

CanSino Biologics signed a MOU on Vaccine Evaluation Platform with Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Resiliency under the Ministry of Health of Indonesia, Tsinghua University, and Etana, an Indonesian biopharmaceutical company, cooperating on the technological research and development of TB vaccine for inhalation use.

Belief Biomed and Thermo Fisher Scientific reached a strategic partnership in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of gene therapy drugs. The partnership combines Belief Biomed's multi-level pipeline and manufacturing capacity with Thermo Fisher Scientific's global resources and international experience.

Cure Genetics announced a partnership with Frametact Limited, a biotech company specializing in the treatments for neurological diseases. The partnership will leverage Cure Genetics' proprietary VELP? platform to develop novel Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) vectors for the treatment of familial neurological diseases. According to the agreement, Cure Genetics will receive an upfront and milestone payment totaling $60 million.

Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals completed the first dosing of GZR4, its ultra-long-acting weekly insulin formulation, in a Phase II clinical trial in China. As the fourth generation of weekly ultra-long-acting insulin, GZR4 is expected to achieve good control of basal blood glucose for a week with only one dose per week.

Zai Lab announced that China's NMPA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for efgartigimod alfa injection (subcutaneous injection) (efgartigimod SC) for the treatment of patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), recognizing the promise of efgartigimod SC as an innovative treatment option for CIDP patients. NMPA also granted breakthrough therapy designation to Zai Lab's repotrectinib for the treatment of patients with advanced solid tumors with NTRK gene fusions.

MediLink Therapeutics' partner Harbour Biomed announced that the US FDA has cleared the IND of HBM9033 to initiate clinical trials in the US. HBM9033, developed jointly by MediLink and Harbour Biomed, adopts MediLink's latest-generation ADC technology platform - Tumor Microenvironment Activable LINker-payload (TMALIN?), which can achieve high DAR value homogeneity and stable coupling at the same time, enhancing the therapeutic effect of ADC drugs on solid tumors.

Asieris reported interim positive results of the Phase II clinical trial combining APL-1202 with PD-1 inhibitor Tislelizumab for muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Meanwhile, the multinational Phase III clinical trial of APL-1702 (Cevira?), a novel, non-surgical treatment of cervical high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL), has met its primary endpoint. Based on the results, APL-1702 holds the potential to become the world’s first non-vaccine product with verified clinical efficacy against cervical HSIL.

Abbisko Therapeutics obtained approval from Europe EMA for Pivotal Global Multi-Center Phase III Clinical Trial of CSF-1R Inhibitor Pimicotinib (ABSK021). This is another important milestone after pimicotinib was approved for Phase III clinical trials in both China and the U.S.

Venus Medtech's VenusP-Valve, VenusA-Valve, and VenusA-Pro were approved for marketing by the Uruguayan Ministry of Public Health. Health in Uruguay. This is another important milestone after VenusP-Valve was approved in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Thailand, Morocco, Jordan and Qatar this year.

Joes Future Food, together with Nanjing Agricultural University, has completed the scale-up production of cell-cultured pig fat in a 500L bioreactor, the first company to complete such a pilot.

Sigular Medical's Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) passed the public notice period of the review result of innovative medical device special review application to China's NMPA, and formally entered into the special review process, which is the first ICD product to enter into the innovative special review process.

Awards

Four Qiming portfolio companies Meituan, Xiaomi, Bilibili and WeDoctor were named among the 2023 Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Chinese Brands list. In a special report, Kantar points out that Chinese companies are accelerating the development and applications of generative AI technology, as well as exploring international markets to drive future growth.

Insta360, Abbisko and M20 Genomics were honored as 2023 Fortune China Most Socially Impactful Startups. According to Fortune China, China's entrepreneurs and startups are on a strong upward trend. This list is to identify the characteristics of China's economic development outside of big corporations and award startups that are not afraid to take risks.

During MIT Technology Review China AI+ Startup Competition, DPTechnology won the Grand Prize of AI FUTURE for its "Micro-scale scientific research and industrial R&D driven by the new paradigm of AI for Science", and Tungee won the second prize.

Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals was honored as Best Employer of the Year for Innovative Practices in the Forbes China Best Employers Selection, recognizing Gan & Lee's continuous efforts and outstanding achievements in employer branding and innovative practices.

Zeen Health's digital therapy for chronic insomnia and Vongi Health's full-service CDMO platform for digital therapy were selected among the TOP30 Best Companies in Innovation and Practice of World Digital Therapy Conference 2023. The selection aims to showcase the innovative practices and achievements of digital therapy companies and provide a platform for selected companies to communicate.

Leading Chinese business media and database The First New Voice and TianYanCha awarded 7 Qiming portfolio companies in the 2023 China Digital New Consumer Selection series.

Tasogare - High-Growth Brand in Food&Beverage category

NEIWAI - High-Growth Brand in Fashion

Spes - High-Growth Brand in Skincare

Roborocks, PETKIT - High-Growth Brand in Homeliving

Qingflow, Sunyar - Best Service Provider

Zencore Biologics was awarded "TOP 10 Most Reliable CXO Partners" in the BIC Awards of Asia Biopharma Innovation. This award identifies technology and service providers, investors and other partners in China's biopharma industry.