It sometimes feels like the greater China tech scene is dominated by giant companies. Tencent, Baidu, Xiaomi and the like are behemoth, multi-billion dollar enterprises. It’s easy to forget that five years ago Xiaomi was secretly prepping to launch its first phone. In that spirit, we examined five companies that caught our eye in 2015 – and which might turn some heads in 2016.
Dianrong: because China’s small-business lending sector was a complete mess
Peer-to-peer lending services exploded in China in 2015 – and no company embodied this trend better than Dianrong. Launched in 2012, the Shanghai-based company focuses on personal and small business loans, sectors that are traditionally handled poorly by China’s bureaucratic and risk-averse state-owned banks.
Dianrong had a stellar 2015, raising US$207 million in August. It reportedly hit a monthly lending volume of RMB 120 billion (US$19 billion) this October – four times what it was processing at the same time last year.
Despite its sizable growth and successful fundraising, there is reason to think that Dianrong is just getting started. The company is planning its next funding push for March 2016 with the ambitious goal of US$500 million.
Dianrong is hardly the only P2P lender in China – it is joined by competitors like Yooli, FirstP2P, Yinker, and Baocaiwang, all of which had funding rounds of US$20 million and higher during the course of the year. But as this year’s fintech boom rolls into next year, it will be Dianrong leading the pack.
Gogoro: because Taiwan missed the memo on electric scooters
We’ll count Taiwan’s Gogoro scooter company as belonging to the greater China area for the purposes of this list, because the company is too interesting to ignore.
It wouldn’t be quite correct to call Gogoro a moped startup. It’s more like a hybrid between an electrical infrastructure firm and a scooter company. That’s because Gogoro is one of the first companies to try and take on Taiwan’s obsession with gas-powered scooters, and it’s doing so by building its own island-wide network of battery charging stations.
Gogoro’s smart electric scooter (Photo: Tech in Asia)
The Gogoro moped – read our review here – went on sale in Taipei this summer, the culmination of the startup’s bike and battery building spree since it was formed in 2011. Its launch was followed by a November series B fundraising round of US$130 million and, just a few weeks later, news that the company would be making its first moves outside of Taiwan.
Asia’s ebike enthusiasts will have to wait a bit longer, though. The company’s first international foray will be in Amsterdam, with plans to roll out in the first half of 2016. Gogoro says other European cities are in the pipeline for later next year.
We’ll be keeping an eye on how the company brings both its bikes and its proprietary charging stations to Europe. This is one startup that’s definitely worth keeping an eye on – lest, with its bikes’ top speed of 95kph, it zips right by.
OnePlus: because Xiaomi might get beat at its own game
It’s no understatement to say that Xiaomi revolutionized the Chinese smartphone industry. The homegrown company was able to turn the market on its head by selling flagship-level phones at bargain prices, while channeling Apple’s style. But more recently, Xiaomi’s minimalist product line has been cast to the wayside: it now features a huge array of phones and products, from big phablet phones to water purifiers and exercise wearables.
Tujia: because Airbnb hasn’t cracked China yet
Edaixi: because China’s O2O market isn’t quite saturated yet
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