Midu Novels Valuation, Funding & Investors

Midu Novels is valued at $1.1B as of March 2021.

Last Midu Novels valuation

$1.1B

Series C · Mar 2021

Last Midu Novels funding round

$110M

Series C · Mar 2021

Cumulative funding Midu Novels raised

$224M

across 3 funding rounds

Key investors in Midu Novels

  • CMC Capital Group

Midu Novels Overview

About Midu Novels

Midu Novels is a Beijing developer of mobile apps for serialized fiction reading, including the Mi Reading Novels client featuring romance, fantasy, urban, and historical genres. It also operates the Balls Ball video app for short-form content, serving millions of users through Tencent and Huawei app stores.


Founded

2018

HQ

ChinaShanghai

Status

Privately held

Customer focus

B2C

Revenue model

Advertising, Subscription

Valuation

$1.1B (Mar 2021)

Midu Novels Valuation

Midu Novels is currently valued at $1.1B, based on its Series C in March 2021.

Midu Novels valuation by funding round

Midu Novels valuation by funding round
DateStageValuation
Mar 2021Series C$1.1B

Midu Novels Funding History

Midu Novels has raised a total of $224M across 3 funding rounds.

Midu Novels' first fundraising round was a $14M Series A in August 2019. The most recent completed round was a $110M Series C in March 2021.

Midu Novels funding rounds

Midu Novels funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedValuationDeal Summary
Mar 2021Series C-$110M$1.1BMidu Novels is a China-based online literature platform founded by Qutoutiao in 2018, operating apps Midu Novels and Midu Novels Lite where users read free e-books across genres like action, romance, and travelogues supported by ads or subscriptions. By Q4 2020, it hosted nearly 200,000 e-books and 200 million users, reflecting a 142% year-over-year content increase. In March 2021, the company achieved a $1.1 billion valuation during its planned Series C round of about $110 million from undisclosed investors, following a $100 million Series B in October 2019 led by CMC Capital with Lighthouse Capital participation, and $14 million Series A earlier that year. The Series C funding aimed to ramp up interactive and engaging content creation. Qutoutiao, its parent news aggregator, backed the platform as a subsidiary. The company was later acquired on November 8, 2021. Midu operates in the competitive online literature market, focusing on free access with monetization via advertising and subscriptions to grow user engagement and content library.
Oct 2019Series BCMC Capital Group (lead)$100M-Midu Novels, operating online literature platforms Midu Novels and Midu Novels Lite, is a subsidiary of Chinese news aggregation app Qutoutiao. The platforms offer free access to stories for readers. In October 2019, Midu closed a $100 million Series B funding round led by CMC Capital, with participation from parent company Qutoutiao. This followed a $14 million Series A round in August 2019 from undisclosed investors. As of late 2018, Midu Novels reported 40 million monthly active users and 5 million daily active users, reaching peak DAUs of about 5 million with average daily time spent per DAU of 150 minutes in December 2018. Qutoutiao aimed for Midu to achieve over 10 million DAUs by the end of 2019 and become China's largest online literature platform by 2020. The funding came amid regulatory challenges, as Midu Novels faced a three-month suspension in mid-2019 for content issues, during which Midu Novels Lite was launched as a temporary app, with plans to merge them in Q4 2019. Midu operates in a competitive Chinese market, facing rivals like Qimao Novels, backed by Baidu with a 37.4% stake, which topped app downloads in April 2019. Qutoutiao's CEO Eric Siliang Tan emphasized Midu's role in the company's content strategy and confidence in its growth.
Aug 2019Series A-$14M-Midu Novels, operating as part of Midu alongside Midu Novels Lite, is a China-based online literature platform launched in May 2018 that provides free reading content supported by advertising. The platform had 40 million monthly active users and 5 million daily active users as of late 2018. It completed a $100 million Series B funding round in October 2019 led by CMC Capital, with participation from parent company Qutoutiao, following an $18 million Series A at the end of 2018, bringing total funding to $118 million. Funds were allocated to content development, author support, marketing, and enhancing industry competitiveness.

Who has invested in Midu Novels?

1 investor has backed Midu Novels across its funding rounds, including CMC Capital Group.

Lead investors include CMC Capital Group.


Midu Novels Investors

Investors in Midu Novels by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check

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Midu Novels Competitors

Midu Novels competitors include listed companies like Trustpilot Group and Taboola, and private ones like NewsBreak, DXY, Lianshang Literature and Red Ventures.

Public and private companies comparable to Midu Novels
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
NewsBreakUnited StatesSan Francisco, CAPrivate--$1.1B-
Trustpilot GroupUnited KingdomUnited KingdomPublicly listed$261M$27M$1.1B3.8x
DXYChinaHangzhouPrivate--$1B-
Lianshang LiteratureChinaShanghaiPrivate--$1B-
Red VenturesUnited StatesCharlotte, SCPrivate--$1B-
TaboolaUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$1.9B$121M$993M0.5x

Midu Novels Public Comps

Midu Novels is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Trustpilot Group, Taboola, Shanghai Ganglian, Inmyshow Digital, USA TODAY, New Guomai Digital, Alma Media, Webtoon, Better Collective and Weathernews.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Trustpilot Group$261M$27M4.3x3.8x42.0x22.6x
Taboola$1.9B$121M0.5x0.5x8.4x4.5x
Shanghai Ganglian$11B$75M0.0x-4.9x-
Inmyshow Digital$582M$22M2.0x1.9x54.7x-
USA TODAY$2.3B$262M0.8x0.9x7.5x7.2x
New Guomai Digital$271M$8M4.0x-131.5x-
Alma Media$377M$110M3.8x3.7x13.1x11.6x
Webtoon$1.4B($373M)0.6x0.6x(2.4x)37.6x

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Common questions about Midu Novels

When was Midu Novels founded?Midu Novels was founded in 2018.
Where is Midu Novels headquartered?Midu Novels is headquartered in Shanghai, China.
Is Midu Novels publicly listed?No, Midu Novels is a private, VC-backed company.
What is Midu Novels' valuation?Midu Novels was last valued at $1.1B in its Series C in March 2021.
How much funding has Midu Novels raised?Midu Novels has raised $224M across 3 funding rounds.
What was Midu Novels' last funding round?Midu Novels' last funding round was a $110M Series C in March 2021.
Who are Midu Novels' investors?Midu Novels' investors include CMC Capital Group.
Which companies are comparable to Midu Novels?Companies comparable to Midu Novels include NewsBreak, Trustpilot Group, DXY, Lianshang Literature, Red Ventures and Taboola.

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