23andMe China Competitor 23Mofang Raises RMB 62 Million in Series B3 Funding to Build Market Moat
VCBeat has learned that on May 31, 23andMe’s Chinese counterpart and leading player in China’s consumer-grade genetic testing industry, 23Mofang, announced the completion of its Series B3 financing round. Led by Chende Capital, with participation from SoftBank China, Bencao Capital, Matrix Partners China, and Yahui Medical, the round raised a total of RMB 62 million.
To date, 23Mofang’s total Series B financing has exceeded RMB 200 million. According to relevant information, since its official launch in May 2015, 23Mofang has completed six rounds of financing, making it the company with the largest publicly disclosed funding amount in China’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing sector.
Zhou Kun, founder of 23Mofang, revealed to reporters: “This round of financing is aimed at building the company’s competitive moat in the market and will be allocated to development across various areas.”
In previous funding rounds, the capital raised by 23Mofang was primarily allocated to market expansion, as well as product research and development and iteration. It is expected that this will also be one of the intended uses for the funds raised in the current round.
Furthermore, according to information previously obtained by VCBeat, sales of 23mofang’s products nearly tripled after the price dropped from RMB 999 to RMB 499. As in all industries, the surge in sales volume also poses a test to the company’s production capacity.
Zhou Kun previously highlighted the explosive growth trend of consumer genomics in China during an interview: “In 2012, the population penetration rate of consumer genetic testing in the United States was approximately 1.1%; by 2017, it had reached 3.75%. If the population penetration rate in the Chinese market were to reach 3.5% in the future, that would translate to 50 million people undergoing sequencing.”
At the same time, he emphasized that the industry is currently facing a shortage of production capacity. It is understood that 23Mofang’s medical laboratory has been completed, covering an area of approximately 600 square meters, and has obtained the relevant qualifications.
Therefore, VCBeat believes that the funds raised will be used not only for long-term and continuous R&D iteration and marketing promotion but also for capacity expansion.
The following are VCBeat’s reports on the various funding rounds of 23Mofang: