Yidian Zixun Valuation, Funding & Investors

Yidian Zixun is valued at $1B as of November 2017.

Last Yidian Zixun valuation

$1B

Series E · Nov 2017

Last Yidian Zixun funding round

$112M

Series E · Nov 2017

Cumulative funding Yidian Zixun raised

$148M

across 3 funding rounds

Key investors in Yidian Zixun

Yidian Zixun Overview

About Yidian Zixun

Yidian Zixun is a China-based personalized news aggregation app founded in 2011 by former Baidu vice president Ren Xuyang. The platform uses recommendation algorithms to deliver customized content to users, competing with ByteDance's Toutiao in China's news app market. Phoenix New Media became Yidian's largest shareholder through a series of investments, and the app grew to tens of millions of daily active users.


Founded

2013

HQ

ChinaChina

Status

Privately held

Customer focus

B2C

Revenue model

Advertising, Subscription

Valuation

$1B (Nov 2017)

Yidian Zixun Valuation

Yidian Zixun is currently valued at $1B, based on its Series E in November 2017.

The $112M round was led by Long De Cheng Zhang Culture Communication, with participation from Dunhong Capital Management.

Yidian Zixun's valuation has grown 10x from $100M at its strategic investment round in November 2014 to $1B in November 2017, across 2 priced rounds.

Yidian Zixun valuation by funding round

Yidian Zixun valuation by funding round
DateStageValuation
Nov 2017Series E$1B
Nov 2014Strategic investment$100M

Yidian Zixun Funding History

Yidian Zixun has raised a total of $148M across 3 funding rounds, plus 1 secondary share sale.

Yidian Zixun's first fundraising round was a $9M strategic investment round in November 2014. The most recent completed round was a $112M Series E in November 2017.

Yidian Zixun funding rounds

Yidian Zixun funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedValuationDeal Summary
Nov 2017Series ELong De Cheng Zhang Culture Communication (lead); Dunhong Capital Management$112M$1BYidian Zixun is a China-based personalized news aggregation platform founded in 2010 that delivers customized content via a mobile app using recommendation algorithms. It had accumulated 52 million daily active users by late 2017 and was backed by Phoenix New Media, which held a significant stake through investments in parent company Particle, reaching approximately 47% ownership as of 2015. The company competed with rivals like Toutiao (Bytedance), which was pursuing a much higher valuation at the time. In November 2017, Yidian Zixun (via Particle) raised $112 million in a Series E round initially sized at $100 million, with lead investor Long De Cheng Zhang Culture Communication (a government guidance fund) and two unnamed participants. The round valued the company at $1 billion post-money. This funding came amid regulatory prerequisites, such as Yidian obtaining a necessary news service license, and followed prior investments and loan arrangements involving Phoenix New Media and Long De. Commercialization lagged behind competitors despite an earlier launch than Toutiao. Later references include a 2017 unicorn list noting a $1.4 billion valuation in October 2017, though tied to this round's timeline. Phoenix New Media's stake adjusted to about 41.82% on an as-if-converted basis by 2018, with ongoing transactions like loan extensions due to Long De's funding remittance issues.
Feb 2015Strategic investmentPhoenix New Media$28M-Yidian Zixun is a Shenzhen-based personalized news aggregator app founded in 2011 by former Baidu vice president Ren Xuyang, competing with Bytedance's Jinri Toutiao and using algorithm-based interest-driven content recommendations. Phoenix New Media (Ifeng) made strategic investments in Yidian Zixun, including in April 2015 and additional stakes in 2015, becoming the largest shareholder with approximately 41.2% ownership on a fully diluted basis as of July 2016. Other investors included Xiaomi in January 2014 and OPPO in July 2016. By June 2016, Yidian Zixun had nearly 30 million daily active users (DAU) and ranked among the top 3 news and information apps in China per TalkingData. Phoenix New Media's 2016 investor presentation highlighted Yidian's synergies with its mobile product portfolio, emphasizing targeted advertising opportunities and accurate recommendation algorithms balancing search, subscriptions, and user behavior. Yidian Zixun raised over $500 million across seven rounds by early 2019, achieving unicorn status with valuation over $1 billion, and continued fundraising including a $350 million private equity round in 2020. Phoenix later reduced its stake from 37.6% to 5.6% in Particle (Yidian's parent) to optimize structure for an IPO on Chinese markets, including Shanghai's sci-tech board.
Feb 2015SecondaryPhoenix New Media$28M--
Nov 2014Strategic investmentPhoenix New Media$9M$100MIn September 2014, Phoenix New Media announced a strategic investment to acquire an 8.75% stake in Particle Inc., the parent company of personalized news feed application Yidian Zixun, for $6 million. At the time of the investment, Yidian Zixun was serving more than 1 million daily active users and was positioned as a leading personalized news feed application in China, offering algorithmic content curation tailored to individual user preferences. Phoenix New Media, a major Chinese media company, viewed the investment as a strategic expansion into mobile news distribution, combining Yidian's algorithmic recommendation engine with Phoenix's premium editorial content and distribution capabilities.

Who has invested in Yidian Zixun?

3 investors have backed Yidian Zixun across its funding rounds, including Phoenix New Media, Dunhong Capital Management and Long De Cheng Zhang Culture Communication.

Lead investors include Long De Cheng Zhang Culture Communication.


Yidian Zixun Investors

Investors in Yidian Zixun by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
Phoenix New MediaChinaBeijing3ParticipantNov 2014

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Yidian Zixun Competitors

Yidian Zixun competitors include listed companies like AnyMind Group and Taboola, and private ones like Datami, LeadSquared, Alembic and Amperity.

Public and private companies comparable to Yidian Zixun
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
DatamiUnited StatesUnited StatesPrivate--$700M-
LeadSquaredIndiaBangalorePrivate$26M-$1B38.5x
AlembicUnited StatesSan Francisco, CAPrivate--$645M-
AnyMind GroupJapanJapanPublicly listed$368M$12M$301M0.7x
AmperityUnited StatesSeattle, WAPrivate$70M-$1B14.3x
TaboolaUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$1.9B$121M$993M0.5x

Yidian Zixun Public Comps

Yidian Zixun is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Appier Group, Taboola, Rezolve AI, Shanghai Ganglian, USA TODAY, Deluxe, Trustpilot Group, Beijing Join-Cheer, ZoomInfo and Yalla Group.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Appier Group$281M$44M3.4x2.9x21.6x15.7x
Taboola$1.9B$121M0.5x0.5x8.4x4.5x
Rezolve AI$47M($109M)23.3x4.0x(10.0x)(19.3x)
Shanghai Ganglian$11B$75M0.0x-4.9x-
USA TODAY$2.3B$262M0.8x0.9x7.5x7.2x
Deluxe$2.1B$379M1.2x1.2x6.7x5.6x
Trustpilot Group$261M$27M4.3x3.8x42.0x22.6x
Beijing Join-Cheer$386M$11M1.9x-68.9x-

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Common questions about Yidian Zixun

When was Yidian Zixun founded?Yidian Zixun was founded in 2013.
Where is Yidian Zixun headquartered?Yidian Zixun is headquartered in China.
Is Yidian Zixun publicly listed?No, Yidian Zixun is a private, VC-backed company.
What is Yidian Zixun's valuation?Yidian Zixun was last valued at $1B in its Series E in November 2017.
How much funding has Yidian Zixun raised?Yidian Zixun has raised $148M across 3 funding rounds.
What was Yidian Zixun's last funding round?Yidian Zixun's last funding round was a $112M Series E in November 2017, led by Long De Cheng Zhang Culture Communication.
Who are Yidian Zixun's investors?Yidian Zixun's investors include Phoenix New Media, Long De Cheng Zhang Culture Communication and Dunhong Capital Management.
Which companies are comparable to Yidian Zixun?Companies comparable to Yidian Zixun include Datami, LeadSquared, Alembic, AnyMind Group, Amperity and Taboola.

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