Ant Group-backed e-signature provider bags $151m in series D round

Esign, an e-signature services provider in China, announced that it has raised over 1 billion yuan (US$151 million) in a series D round led by the Shenzhen Capital Group, the Evergrande High-Tech Group, which is owned by Chinese property giant Evergrande Group, and Fortune Capital.

Grand Flight and Fanchuang Capital also participated in the round.

Photo credit: Ilker Celik / 123RF

Founded in 2002, Esign offers electronic signature services for companies in sectors such as property, retail, manufacturing, internet, and bank and supply chain finance, as well as government-owned enterprises.

Its clients include tech giant Alibaba, Japanese multinational conglomerate Sony Corporation, Huaxia Bank, video surveillance equipment manufacturer and supplier Hikvision, automotive company Geely, and Budweiser.

As of June 30, the company claims it has handled more than 12.1 billion electronic contracts and served over 5.02 million enterprise users and 270 million individual users.

Esign said it sees potential market growth for e-signature services during the pandemic as people have been forced to sign documents online. E-signature also enables users to buy and sell properties online.

This year, the company worked with the Ant Group-owned Ant Chain to launch blockchain-based contracts in May and blockchain-based electron seals in July.

Its new fund will go toward developing its product and services, as well as expanding its business.

According to research by P&S Intelligence, the global digital signature market is expected to grow to US$23.9 billion by 2030, witnessing a compound annual growth rate of 28.6% from 2020 to 2030.

Last year, Esign raised nearly US$100 million in a series C round from Ant Group, Gobi Partners, and Eminent Ventures.

Prior to that, it had received 45 million yuan (US$6.8 million) in a series A round from Oriental Fortune Capital in 2016 and 150 million yuan (US$22.6 million) in a series B round from Qianhai Mergers and Acquisitions Fund and THG Ventures in 2018.

Currency converted from Chinese yuan to US dollar: US$1 = 6.63 yuan.