China’s Picooc, maker of smart body scales, gets $21 million in funding

Health-tracking gadget maker Picooc, best known for its smart body scales, has raised US$21 million.

The funding is reported by local tech blog 36Kr, though Picooc has not made an announcement. The new investment is said to be from two of China’s leading web giants, Tencent (HKG:0700) and JD (NASDAQ:JD). Gobi Partners also contributed some cash.

Picooc’s Latin smart scales, which sell for RMB 449 (US$72) in China, not only shows your weight but also indicates important metrics like body fat, body mass index, body water, and muscle mass. It ties to an app (pictured below) for a fitness-tracking experience that complements wearable tech gadgets.

The Picooc Latin is priced very keenly up against the Fitbit Area scales, which cost RMB 1,198 (US$198) in China. That’s nearly triple the price of the Latin. Fitbit launched officially in China earlier this month.

See: China’s top wearable tech startup nets $10 million in funding, but looks to be falling behind the competition

Picooc sells online through JD and Tencent’s Yixun estore. Tencent took a 15 percent stake in JD in March this year in a radical shake-up of its failing ecommerce strategy, so the two ecommerce stores are now effectively partners – something emphasized by this joint investment in a promising local startup.

(Source: 36Kr)