Trustbridge Partners has led a RMB160 million (US$23 million) series A round in Shanghai Bajiulin, a new media and knowledge sharing start-up founded by well-known Chinese financial writer Wu Xiaobo.
Zheshang Venture capital, Toutoushidao Capital and Puhua Capital also participated in the round, which gives the start-up a RMB2 billion (US$29 million) valuation post-money.
Founded in 2014, Shanghai Bajiulin produces video and radio talkshows covering professional financial and business topics. Channel Wu, its flagship video channel hosted by Wu Xiaobo, has attracted over two million followers. Another video program, Datou Channel, has achieved 780 million views in total, the company claims.
The company targets middle-class Chinese consumers willing to pay for content, something that users have been taken for granted to obtain for free.
A number of paid content producers, including knowledge sharing mobile app Zaihang and Fenda, as well as video and audio knowledge platform Logical Thinking, have all raised venture funding in the past.
CMC Capital, Qiming Venture Partners invested in Logical Thinking, also known as Luoji Siwei, in 2015. Tencent Holdings Ltd., Sequoia Capital, Vision Plus Capital and others invested around RMB200 million (US$29 million) in Zaihang and Fenda in 2016.
Toutoushidao Capital was founded by Cao Guoxiong, a partner at Matrix Partners China, and Wu Xiaobo. It focuses on investing in China's cultural, media and entertainment sectors.