The widely watched travel recording and sharing app "On the Road," which has been online for over a year since October 2011, has reached a user base of 3 million, far outpacing similar products. However, the public has known little about the information behind the product. Recently, "On the Road" disclosed its financing backstory to the media for the first time. It is understood that in February 2012, "On the Road" received several million RMB in angel funding from a well-known domestic angel investor. Subsequently, the Series A round of financing had already completed the relevant agreements as early as July 2012, with all funds arriving shortly thereafter. The Series A investor of "On the Road" was Redpoint Ventures, with a financing amount in the millions of US dollars. Although the exact figure has not been made public, according to the reporter's investigation, "On the Road" rented two office spaces in July in the office buildings of Beijing’s Huamao area and Shanghai’s Caohejing—clearly, the successful Series A financing gave "On the Road" enough confidence to build its nest and attract talent in two of China’s most developed internet cities right at the start of its entrepreneurial journey.
But what intrigued the reporter the most was why "On the Road" kept the news of its successful financing under wraps for half a year? As is well known, 2012 was the freezing point for mobile internet investment and financing in China. During that period, every team that successfully secured funding invariably received high attention from the industry. Yet "On the Road" chose a low-profile approach. CEO Chen Wei explained it this way: entrepreneurship is not easy, and he did not want the team to be overly affected by external attention and distractions, but instead to focus all their energy on product development and user experience.
But according to analysis by senior figures in the investment and financing circle, "On the Road" may very well have deliberately delayed the release of its financing information from a strategic perspective. Since the launch of the "On the Road" app, multiple imitators and followers have emerged domestically. Although their product experience and user scale are considerably behind "On the Road," seeking financing has been urgently necessary for survival. Therefore, if "On the Road" had announced its Series A financing too early, it might have drawn the attention of some investment funds to other travel recording apps, which could have inadvertently accelerated the rise of its potential competitors. Now, the user volume of the "On the Road" app is already comparable to the total user base of all second-tier travel recording apps—it really is time to end its "covert" phase.
The Series A investor of "On the Road," Redpoint Ventures, is a veteran dollar-denominated investment fund in the industry, with over 100 years of experience in operations, industrial, and technology investments. It specializes in investing in innovative companies with the potential to lead and transform industries. The fund was founded by Brentwood Venture Capital and Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), both of which are national-level venture capital firms. It manages a total of $4 billion in funds and has invested in nearly 200 leading companies, including Myspace, Path, and Gogobot. After entering the Chinese market, it participated in early investments in Qihoo 360, as well as approximately 20 innovative enterprises such as Miaozhen and Domob.
Regarding the next steps for "On the Road," CEO Chen Wei simply said three words—"On the Road."