Chinese professional networking service Maimai.cn raises $200M Series D led by DST Global and says it's planning a US IPO for next year
Yimian Wu / China Money Network :
Context & Ripple Effects
Maimai's $200M Series D is a step-change from the $75M Series C it announced last November, when iResearch counted 30M users against LinkedIn China's claimed 32M — effectively at parity with its global rival on home turf. The new round is led by DST Global, whose track record includes Facebook, Twitter and Alibaba.
The stated plan for a US IPO fits a corridor already trodden by peers in this coverage: Meituan-Dianping was reported weighing a multi-billion-dollar US listing, and Dingdong Maicai later filed for one. A local LinkedIn challenger going public in New York would give US investors direct exposure to China's professional networking market.
First-order effects
- DST Global's lead check gives Maimai the war chest to scale past LinkedIn China while running dual-track IPO preparation for next year.
Second-order effects
- LinkedIn China now faces a rival that can outspend it locally and gain a US-listed balance sheet, forcing a response on product or pricing in the professional-networking segment.
Third-order effects
- If Maimai completes the listing, late-stage Chinese consumer-internet companies will have a repeatable template: raise big from global funds like DST, then monetize that stake via a US IPO rather than waiting for domestic markets.
The trend: Chinese consumer internet companies are using large late-stage rounds from globally minded investors like DST Global as staging grounds for US public listings.