Chinese industrial software developer New Dimension Systems has secured almost 700 million yuan ($97.1 million) in a new funding round from investors including Temasek-backed Vertex Ventures and SoftBank China Venture Capital.
The Hangzhou-headquartered startup raised the fresh capital from lead investor SDIC Venture Capital, the investment management arm of China’s State Development & Investment Corporation (SDIC), it announced in a statement on Thursday. Other investors in the new round include financial investment companies and corporates, such as Chengdu F&D Equity Investment, Bohai Industrial Investment Fund, and Shenzhen Hui Capital.
Existing shareholders including vehicle manufacturer BYD, as well as Chinese investment companies Co-Win Ventures, Innoangel Fund, and Shenzhen HTI Group re-upped in the deal.
New Dimension Systems was established in 2003 by Ye Xiuzi, the former chief scientist and one of the founding members of SolidWorks, a solid modeling computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided engineering (CAE) application published by French software firm Dassault Systèmes.
The venture had started with providing industrial software R&D for third-party clients including SolidWorks, as well as Ansys SpaceClaim and MSC Software in the US, before it moved towards developing its proprietary industrial software products in 2015.
Its three-dimensional CAD technology is adopted across areas like new energy, auto and parts, general and specialised machinery equipment, rail transportation, and high-tech electronics.
Some of its clients include BYD, Chinese state-owned rolling stock manufacturer CRCC Corporation, industrial turbo machinery maker Hangzhou Steam Turbine Power Group, and OFILM Group, which offers electronic components such as touch display solutions for smartphones and intelligent vehicles.
“Industrial software is key to upgrading the manufacturing industry. Industrial software used in product R&D, in particular, is one of the segments with the highest technical barrier. Amid rising R&D investment among China’s manufacturing corporates, the country has demonstrated a market demand for R&D software that grows at a pace faster than the global average,” said Liu Liqun, deputy general manager at SDIC Venture Capital.
Liu said that New Dimension Systems is expected to leverage its experience of working with overseas industrial software companies to help satisfy the domestic demand for such products, especially 3D CAD software, where Chinese homegrown offerings and technology are still lagging behind those of the US and Europe.