91 Desktop Wins New Funding at USD 100 Mln Valuation
DoNews, 12/22/15
Zhen Yousheng, a representative for the operator of Chinese mobile home screen replacement and handset management app 91 Desktop, recently said that it completed a funding round in October, the company's first round of investment since it was spun out from Chinese internet company Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) for independent operation in July. The total amount of funding was not revealed, but 91 Desktop's post-funding valuation is estimated at USD 100 mln.
In the future, the company will continue to focus on the home screen and will try out new ways of generating cash flow, such as adding product recommendations content from search and e-commerce partners to a desktop quick search screen. 91 Desktop will also partner with Baidu to deliver targeted advertisements based on big data analysis, and will launch an image community application based on user-generated content to expand its range of revenue streams.
Zheng Yousheng said that 91 Launcher plans to expand into Southeast Asia and other overseas markets where mobile Internet services are relatively underdeveloped.
Editor's Note: For more information on this topic, please see "Baidu to Spin Out O2O Food Delivery, Handset Manager Units," MD 7/28/15 issue.
Keywords: mobile advertising business model funding valuation wireless Baidu BIDU handset manager 91 Desktop mobile application Series A