One of China’s biggest spots for Android apps just got a whole lot more support.
Wandoujia, One of China’s Biggest App Stores, Lands $120 Million Round
SoftBank backs Beijing’s hottest Android App store.
Wandoujia, a Beijing-based Android app store startup, announced on Monday it had closed a massive $120 million round of financing. The Series B round was led by Japanese telecom giant SoftBank Corp., with participation from Wandoujia’s existing investors DCM and Kai-Fu Lee’s Innovation Works Development Fund, among others.
Founded in 2010, the startup has fast become one of China’s go-to destinations for Android app distribution, a coveted position in a country where Android devices don’t typically come with Google’s Play app store on board. The company claims it hosts more than 300 million users (registered, though not necessarily active) and sees upward of 30 million app downloads on a daily basis.
The investment comes just six months after Baidu, the Chinese Internet search giant, acquired another of China’s leading app marketplaces — 91 Wireless — for $1.9 billion.
But since its inception, Wandoujia has aimed to diversify its offerings beyond being just a repository for apps. Early on, the company worked on a search engine for better discovery inside the store.
Wandoujia has focused on content, too; last September, the company released a video search product, and it also touts games and music for download alongside of apps. Wandoujia’s international SnapPea product (which comes translated in English) lets users sync Android apps, contacts and other mobile data to their Windows PCs — much like Apple’s iTunes functions with iOS devices.
Wandoujia has partnered with a number of U.S.-based mobile startups for Asian app distribution, including Flipboard, Evernote, Pocket and Path.
The company plans to use the new funds for its continued expansion.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
