Xiaozao Technology has completed a hundred-million-yuan Series B financing round, which was jointly invested by the SME Development Fund managed by Orient Fortune Hai and Tsing Capital. The funds raised in this round will be used for production and research and development, to accelerate production efficiency, increase production capacity, and enhance core competitiveness and commercial value.
Orient Fortune Hai Investment Management Co., Ltd. is a professional venture capital management company initiated by several professionals who have long been engaged in the venture capital field in China, with rich practical experience, excellent investment performance, and considerable influence in the industry. It has extensive investment experience.
Orient Fortune Hai has established its own operating mechanism in reference to the international model. The company is strictly and meticulously managed, with efficient investment decision-making, and is able to provide personalized value-added services to invested companies as needed. Since its establishment, it has cumulatively managed a fund scale of nearly 25 billion yuan, with 47 funds under management. It has invested in more than 450 projects, of which 115 have been exited through listing, mergers and acquisitions, and other means.
Tsing Capital is a venture capital management institution under Tsinghua Holdings, led by a team. It was established in 2015, with its headquarters in Beijing and offices in Guangzhou, Wuhan, Shenzhen, and Nantong. In 2016, Tsing Capital became the manager of the SME Development Fund (Jiangsu Nantong Limited Partnership), a sub-fund of the National SME Development Fund. At present, the total asset scale managed by the Tsing Capital team exceeds 10 billion yuan, with more than 150 invested projects.
In this investment and financing plan, Orient Fortune Hai and Tsing Capital visited Xiaozao multiple times for on-site inspections and comprehensive assessments of Xiaozao Technology's finances, production, and future development plans. They fully evaluated the team's leadership, cohesion, and innovation and R&D capabilities. Orient Fortune Hai and Tsing Capital expressed strong confidence in Xiaozao Technology's future development and look forward to its greater achievements.
Xiaozao Technology is a high-tech enterprise focusing on the research and development and commercial application of natural microalgae and their derivatives. Its core products include pure EPA microalgae oil, EPA microalgae blended oil, full-fat algae powder, and defatted algae powder, which have a wide range of applications in the pharmaceutical, health care, food, and livestock and aquaculture industries.
On April 25, the National Health Commission of China released an announcement on six new types of food, including β-1,3/α-1,3-glucan, and Nannochloropsis was approved as a new food material, becoming a new member of the family of new food materials derived from algae. This marks the formal approval of plant-derived EPA to enter the Chinese food market.
EPA has very significant therapeutic effects on diseases in the immune and cardiovascular fields and can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases on the basis of statin drugs.
In March of this year, the European Union approved the marketing application of high-purity EPA, which will be used for adult patients with triglycerides (≥150 mg/dL) and a history of cardiovascular disease or diabetes with at least one additional cardiovascular risk factor, to further reduce the risk of cardiovascular events on the basis of statin therapy.
In addition, relevant studies have shown that regular supplementation of EPA can reduce the risk or prevent non-communicable chronic diseases and also has certain effects on weight loss, relieving sports fatigue, anti-inflammation, and anti-depression.
Xiaozao Technology has accumulated nearly 10 years of experience in EPA extraction and owns the industry's highest purity EPA extraction process, multiple technical patents for algae-derived EPA extraction, and related intellectual property rights.
Since its establishment in 2016, Xiaozao Technology has invented several microalgae cultivation and extraction technology patents, successfully screened and cultivated Nannochloropsis containing only EPA and achieved large-scale cultivation. It has also made breakthroughs in EPA extraction technology and can successfully extract high-purity EPA ethyl ester refined algae oil, which has a better appearance, color, and odor that meet market consumption habits and has good market acceptance.
In Shenzhen, Xiaozao Technology has an independent microalgae research and development laboratory and a professional microalgae technology research and development team. In Guangxi, it has a world-class microalgae cultivation production base, which is also the largest microalgae cultivation base in China at present, with a systematic end-to-end production and processing process.
The first-phase production base in Guangxi is responsible for downstream oil extraction production, covering an area of 87 mu, with oil extraction processing workshops, cold storage, warehouses, and cool rooms. The second-phase cultivation base is responsible for upstream cultivation production. The project is planned to cover 3,200 mu, with a total investment of 350 million yuan. The first stage of 1,200 mu was completed in June, including 141 large and small cultivation ponds, a 1,370 square meter centrifuge room, and a 2,859 square meter office area, with an annual production capacity of 220 tons of concentrated algae slurry and 660 tons of algae powder.
As microalgae are increasingly focused on by more and more enterprises and industries, their powerful functions, high production efficiency, and carbon consumption are particularly valued. During the cultivation process of Nannochloropsis, only sunlight, seawater, air, and carbon dioxide are needed. Not only does it not require additional nutrients, but it can also consume a large amount of carbon dioxide. Cultivating one ton of microalgae requires at least 1.8 tons of carbon dioxide.
Xiaozao Technology cooperates with factories to introduce treated carbon dioxide exhaust gas into microalgae cultivation ponds through pipelines, achieving both production and carbon dioxide consumption.
Starting from June, the full completion and commissioning of Xiaozao Technology's first and second-phase projects will enable stable market supply of concentrated algae slurry, full-fat algae powder, defatted algae powder, pure EPA algae oil, and EPA blended oil products. It will also accelerate product line R&D, extend EPA application scenarios, and provide higher-quality products and services.