Misfit looks to adrenaline boost from China, raises $40 million from Xiaomi and other investors

Fitness tracking startup Misfit has secured US$40 million in funding from an array of Chinese investors. The US firm’s latest investment is led by GGV Capital along with Xiaomi, JD, Shunwei, and existing investors, reports TechCrunch.

Misfit’s new strategic partners in China, particularly ecommerce store JD and phone maker Xiaomi, could be useful for giving Misfit’s wearables greater reach in the Chinese market through their respective stores. For Xiaomi, which already sells a US$13 Mi Band fitness tracker (see our Mi Band review here), Misfit might prove to be a partner for new and higher-end Xiaomi gadgets, or Xiaomi could assist Misfit in speedy product development. Xiaomi declined to comment to Tech in Asia on the funding round.

Misfit CEO and founder Sonny Vu describes China as “probably our favorite market,” and explained to TechCrunch that it’s not in competition with Xiaomi’s own wearable:

The person who buys the $13 band is very different from the person who buys the $100 Shine. The day that they announced the $13 band, was the largest single sales day for us at Misfit. If it were lightbulbs or tablets, then price probably is incredibly important. I’m not saying price isn’t important, but when it comes to wearables, fashion, design, brand, and experience are more significant factors.

The enthusiasm, however, masks the challenge of selling something that’s far from ubiquitous to a market that’s very price sensitive.

The Misfit Shine retails at RMB 698 (US$113) in China, which is nine times more expensive than Xiaomi’s Mi Band.

Misfit’s existing investors include Horizons Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund and Northwest Venture Partners.

(Source: TechCrunch)