Sequoia Capital China and Tiger Global Management have joined the $50-million Series B funding round for NowCoder, a Chinese startup that offers campus recruitment solutions.
NowCoder, which is operated by Beijing Nowcoder Technology, also saw the participation of 5Y Capital and Pegasus Capital, the investment vehicle of Chinese online classifieds platform 58.com, in the round.
Shunwei Capital, a VC backed by consumer electronics brand Xiaomi’s founder Lei Jun, also invested in the transaction, the startup announced on its WeChat official account.
NowCoder plans to use the proceeds to expand its user base as well as to add new corporate clients to its existing network of more than 1,500 companies. It serves companies across 30-plus industries such as fintech, internet, smart manufacturing, semiconductor, automobile, and gaming.
Established in 2014, NowCoder started as an online job-hunting forum and interview question bank targeting software programmers. In 2016, to leverage its 250,000 registered user base, it pivoted to providing campus recruitment solutions for internet companies.
This strategy helped the startup break even in 2017. Subsequently, a year later, it attracted “tens of millions of Chinese yuan (over $1.4 million)” in a Series A round led by 58.com. China Distance Education Holdings participated in the Series A round.
Nowcoder counts some of China’s biggest technology companies including Alibaba Group, Tencent, TikTok-owner ByteDance, Huawei, and Xiaomi among existing clients. It also serves Tesla and Intel Corp, as well as financial groups like China Merchants Bank and China Construction Bank, to name a few.
As the startup faces competition from a range of domestic counterparts such 51Job, Liepin, and Shixiseng, NowCoder’s founder and CEO Ye Xiangyu said that the firm will strategically focus on the “depth” of its offerings in sourcing high-tech professionals before its expansion into tapping talent in other areas.
“NowCoder is essentially a platform combining a community, job-hunting tools and content. The interplay of what we are trying to offer, namely practical tools, emotional support, and accumulative content, has brought value to our users in their job-seeking efforts,” said Ye. “This combination also helps us identify target users and ensure the loyalty of our corporate clients.”