2014 was all about...people. The world-class entrepreneurs who feed off the energy of the companies they are building and the industries they are changing.
2. 2014 WAS ALL ABOUT…PEOPLE
Why are there so many smiling entrepreneurs throughout these
pages? Aside from being world-class optimists, entrepreneurs
feed off the energy of the companies they are building and the
industries they are changing.
For example: Alibaba, Wish, and Houzz are revolutionizing the
way consumers buy and sell products globally. GrabTaxi, Flight-
Car, and Didi-Dache are forever changing how people think
about transportation. And Misfit, Ehang, Tile, and Zepp are at
the forefront of the global Internet of Things movement.
Every smiling entrepreneur represents not only an idea, a suc-
cess story, a market forever altered – but also the hard work of
the thousands of people employed at their companies. As you
read through this Year in Review, be sure to check out some
of their incredible stories. We are thrilled these teams have al-
lowed GGV Capital to be part of their success, and we couldn’t
be more excited to see what they will accomplish in 2015.
We began the year with the closing of GGV Capital Fund V,
our $620 million global venture capital fund. Over the course
of 2014, we investsed $250 million into 52 companies (across
Funds III, IV, and V), 36 of which are new to the GGV portfolio.
This is consistent with prior years and reflects our strategy of
investment in category-leading companies across the US and
China.
Two of our portfolio companies completed initial public offer-
ings (IPOs), Zendesk (NYSE: ZEN) and Alibaba Group (NYSE:
BABA). Alibaba’s IPO was the largest in history at over $25
billion, and both companies have performed very well since
their offerings. Additionally, our private portfolio companies
collectively raised more than $2.3 billion in new financing
during 2014, creating a strong foundation for future growth.
THE MANAGING PARTNERS OF GGV CAPITAL
4. Anthony Tan has built GrabTaxi, the leading mobile taxi
app in Southeast Asia, at a breakneck pace. GrabTaxi
averages more than three bookings per second on its
platform and raised more than $300 million in growth
capital during 2014.
5. MOBILE EVERYWHERE
The world is approaching 2 billion smartphone
users, and more people now access the Internet
via mobile than PC. In fact, more people in the
world now use a mobile phone than use a tooth-
brush. We are aggressively working to invest in
companies pursuing this incredible global trend.
6. Peter Szulczewski and Danny Zhang created Wish to
meet the rising mobile shopping demands of consumers
around the world. One of the fastest-growing players in
mobile commerce, Wish has more than 35 million active
users, half of which use the app at least once a week.
7. BRIDGING THE US AND CHINA
The U.S. and China are the two largest economies
in the world, and the fastest-growing consumer
technology markets are in China, India and South-
east Asia. We look for companies thinking globally
from day one, and leverage our deep knowledge,
experience, and relationships to help drive success
in these markets.
8. Adi Tatarko and Alon Cohen started Houzz in 2009 after
a frustrating home remodeling experience. Five years
later, Houzz is the largest online renovation and design
community with more than 25 million monthly active
users and 600 thousand professionals on the platform.
9. GLOBAL COMMERCE
Global e-commerce continues to rise, reaching
more than $600 billion in 2014. Mobile commerce,
growing a breakneck pace, will comprise nearly
half of all e-commerce by 2018. The fastest-grow-
ing and most innovative commerce and service
platforms are being developed around highly
engaged communities with high-quality content
and social features.
10. Justin Luo and Melissa Yang founded Tujia when they
saw rising demand but under-utilized supply of vacation
homes in China, the world’s largest travel market. Tujia,
which offers both online listings and offline services, is
now China’s leading vacation rental platform and raised
more than $100 million in growth capital during 2014.
11. SHARING EVERYTHING
Mobile and social have grown up together, so it’s
no surprise that mobile activity centers around
sharing. Mobile is enabling people to share every-
thing from knowledge to experiences to physical
resources - all in real-time. We are working with
entrepreneurs creating these new economies and
communities.
12. Sonny Vu, John Sculley and Sridhar Iyengar founded
Misfit in 2011 to develop fashion- and design-focused
wearables. Misfit now has a presence in more than 21
thousand retail locations in 50 countries and raised a
growth capital round of financing from GGV, Xiaomi,
and others in 2014.
13. EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED
Mobile is no longer just about smartphones and
tablets. By 2018 we expect to see more than 10
billion connected “IoT” devices worldwide, and
connectivity and data will be ubiquitous. We are
investing aggressively in the entrepreneurs help-
ing to create and drive this market forward.
14. As former CEO of Omniture, Josh James saw the
unrealized potential for big data to drive decision-
making in businesses. He founded Domo to build the
ultimate business dashboard, and in 2014 the company
saw 100% year-over-year growth.
15. ON CLOUD NINE
Cloud computing has revolutionized the $1 trillion
enterprise technology market. This massive shift,
however, is still in its infancy. Innovative entre-
preneurs are creating massive opportunities in
applications, mobile, security and infrastructure
platforms.
16. Mike McCue and Evan Doll created Flipboard in 2010 to
make digital, mobile content and advertising as elegant
and beautiful as the best in print. With more than 130
million users worldwide, Flipboard has become a daily
habit for readers in the U.S., China and around the world.
17. CONTENT THAT CAPTIVATES
Digital media has steadily been overtaking tradi-
tional media for mindshare. In the US, the average
person spends more time each day on their mo-
bile device than watching TV. High quality digital
content has become the foundation for building
engaged users, creating online communities, and
driving online and mobile commerce.
18. GGV in Top Ten on
Forbes Midas List 2014
SoundCloud raises
$60 million Series D
GGV invests in Flipboard in
$50 million Series C round
GGV leads Zepp’s
Series B
GGV makes intros
for China internet
giants looking to US
Domo raises
$125 million
round
JANUARY
Bluekai is
acquired
by Oracle
FEBRUAR
MARCHPercolate raises
$24 million Series B
GGV anoints tech’s biggest
players in China and US
19. MAY
GGV raises $620 million Fund V
Zendesk raises
$100 million in IPO
and rises 27% on
first day of trading
GrabTaxi raises $15
million Series B from
GGV, followed by
more than $300
million from
Softbank and
Tiger Global
Light Chaser Animation
raises $20 million Series
B from GGV
Tujia raises $100 million
Series C
Wish raises $19 million
round led by GGV
APRIL
Alibaba
acquires
UCWeb
JUNE
20. Citrus Lane is acquired
by Care.com
GGV leads
Curse’s
$19 million
Series B
DraftKings raises $41 million
Alibaba sets record with
$25 billion NYSE IPO
GGV leads $13.5
million Series A
for FlightCar
JULY
Houzz raises
$165 million
Series D
GGV shares lessons from
Alibaba’s evolution
AUGUST
Tile raises
$9.5 million
Series A led
by GGV
SEPTEMBER
21. Jenny Lee:
VC. Golfer,
Fighter Jet
Engineer.
GGV leads Seed round for Totspot
Square raises
$150 million
Evolv is
acquired by
Cornerstone
OCTOBER
The King-Maker Strategy:
China giants investing in US
Jixun Foo is AVCJ
VC professional of
the year
Misfit raises $40 million from
GGV, Xiaomi and others Didi Dache raises $700 million
Hashicorp raises
$10 million Series A
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
22. SELECT 2014 NEW INVESTMENTS
Boxed (boxed.com) is a mobile commerce app for
streamlined ordering and delivery of bulk or whole-
sale goods. GGV led the company’s Series B financ-
ing, and Jeff Richards joined the company’s board of
directors.
Curse (curse.com) is a media and online gaming ser-
vices platform focused on virtual worlds. GGV led the
company’s $16 million Series B financing, and Hans
Tung joined the company’s board of directors.
Didi-Dache (xiaojukeji.com) is the leading taxi-book-
ing app in China. GGV participated in the compa-
ny’s $700 million Series D financing led by Temasek
Holding.
EHANG (ehang.com) is a leading designer of con-
sumer and commercial drones and the maker of the
“Ghost Drone.” GGV is leading the company’s Series
A round of financing, and Jenny Lee is joining the
company’s board of directors.
FlightCar (flightcar.com) is a car-sharing startup that
allows car owners to rent out their cars at airports.
GGV led the company’s $13.5 million Series A round
of financing, and Hans Tung joined the company’s
board of directors.
Flipboard (flipboard.com) is transforming how
people discover, view and share content on mobile
devices. GGV invested in the company’s $100 million
Series C round of financing.
Grabtaxi (grabtaxi.com) is a leading location-based
taxi booking and dispatch platform focused on
Southeast Asia. GGV led the company’s $15 million
Series B financing, and Jixun Foo joined the compa-
ny’s board of directors.
Hashicorp (hashicorp.com) provides tools
to developers to improve the development, delivery
and maintenance of applications. GGV participated
in the company’s Series A round of financing led by
Mayfield Fund, and Glenn Solomon joined the com-
pany’s board of directors.
Light Chaser Animation Studios (zhuiguang.com)
was founded by Gary Wang, founder and ex-CEO of
Tudou.com, China’s leading internet video website
and GGV portfolio company. Light Chaser creates
world-class animated films with a Chinese cultural
touch. GGV led the company’s $20 million Series B
round of financing, and Jixun Foo joined the compa-
ny’s board of directors.
23. Misfit (misfit.com), creator of the Shine and Flash
fitness and sleep monitors, is known for creating the
world’s most elegant wearables. GGV led the com-
pany’s $40 million Series C financing, and Hans Tung
joined the company’s board of directors.
Yingying (yingyinglicai.com) is a mobile app which
allows consumers to purchase financial products
such as money market funds and asset-based collat-
eral loans. GGV led the company’s Series A round of
financing, and Jenny Lee joined the company’s board
of directors.
Tile (thetileapp.com) is a tiny wearable to keep track
of all the things you don’t want to lose. GGV led the
company’s $9.5 million Series A financing, and Jeff
Richards joined the company’s board of directors.
Totspot (totspot.me) is a mobile-first platform for
moms to buy and sell children’s clothes and came
out of 500 Startups. GGV led the company’s seed
round of financing, and Hans Tung joined the compa-
ny’s board of directors as an observer.
Yangche Diandian (yangchediandian.com) is a
mobile app for car owners that started by offering
discount car washes and is expanding into other
automotive services. GGV led the company’s Series B
round of financing, and Jixun Foo is joining the com-
pany’s board of directors.
GGV Capital is a venture capital firm founded in 2000 with the unique idea
to have one team investing in both China and the US. With $2.2 billion under
management across 5 funds, the GGV portfolio includes Alibaba, AlienVault,
Buddy Media, Chukong Technologies, Curse, Didi Taxi, Domo, Douguo, Draft-
Kings, FlightCar, Flipboard, GrabTaxi, HiWiFi, HotelTonight, Houzz, Kingsoft
WPS, Light Chaser Animation, Meilishuo, Misfit, Nimble Storage, Pactera,
Pandora Media, Quixey, Qunar, SoundCloud, Square, SuccessFactors, Tile,
Tujia, UCWeb, Wish, Youku Tudou, YY, Zendesk, and Zepp.
www.ggvc.com
@GGVCapital
GGV Capital company page
GGV Capital
GGV Capital company page