Chinese online drugstore Yiyao breaks records with $72M series C

Chinese online drugstore Yiyao (also called 111.com.cn) announced this week that it has closed an RMB 450 million (US$72 million) series C funding round. Investors in the round were not disclosed, but reportedly the $72 million sum makes this the highest-ever funding round raised by a Chinese medical ecommerce company.

Yiyao is an online drug superstore where patients can buy over-the-counter medications, traditional Chinese remedies, and a variety of other health products including everything from sex toys to diet pills.

The Guangdong-based site was founded in July of 2010 and has since found success in China’s crowded health ecommerce market. That success is due in no small part to its highly memorable URL 111.com.cn, which is both easy to remember and a play on the company’s name (the number “one” can be pronounced as both yi and yao in Chinese).

(Source: iHeiMa)