Baihe, a Chinese dating site where users flaunt their financial standing, bags $241M

Chinese dating site Baihe has announced it recently raised RMB 1.5 billion (US$241 million) in series D funding, according to Sina Tech. The investors have not been disclosed.

Baihe approaches dating from an empirical and practical – some might say materialistic – perspective, with the end goal being marriage. Users are required to use their real names and are encouraged to share information like their property status and education. In other words, does this person own a home and have a good degree? Posting videos is also encouraged as they are more difficult to manipulate than photos. Members can verify their marital status to prove they aren’t seeking affairs.

Recently, the site added a feature wherein users can post their credit score, as rated by a third-party private agency, to show they are in good financial standing. A member can only see information on other people’s profiles that they have shared themselves.

O2O services related to the marriage industry are a major means of monetization for Baihe. The company plans to extend those offerings to consulting, financial services, and media.

Founded in 2005, Baihe now claims to have 85 million members, though those are mostly likely registered users, not active ones.

Baihe’s biggest competitor, Jiayuan, listed on the NASDAQ in 2011. In February this year, Jiayuan announced it surpassed 140 million members, inclusive of its other dating sites iZhenxin and Qiuai. But out of 126.5 million accounts on Jiayuan, only 5.4 million were active at least once per month as of December 2014, according to the company’s latest earnings report.

Baihe CEO Fanjiang Tian mentioned an initial public offering (IPO) might be in the pipeline, though the company would probably opt for a domestic stock exchange rather than an international one.

See more: 6 dating apps from Asia

(Source: Sina Tech)