YASO, a London-based startup that helps consumer brands expand and grow in the Chinese market has raised £8.25m in a Series A funding round.
The company provides an operating system covering payments, logistics, compliance, tax, analytics and storefront integrations for firms looking to grow their presence in the challenging to enter but highly lucrative Chinese market.
The Series A investment was led by Puma Growth Partners.
“We couldn’t be happier to be partnering with Puma on this opportunity. We have the team, the tech, the market size and therefore the opportunity to build a billion dollar business helping brands launch and scale in the world’s largest ecommerce market,” said Jonny Plein, co-Founder of YASO.
“We needed an investor who matched YASO’s ambitions, and we have found that in Puma. We are also delighted with the other co-investors, including the Seed investors, both VCs and Angels, who have been there since day 1, who backed us again in this round. We can’t wait to take YASO to the next level!”
Other backers of the round include Guinness Ventures, Playfair Capital, Koro Capital, Haatch Ventures, Sequel, Portfolio Ventures, Nodes, and Founders Capital.
“We are delighted to be backing the YASO team who are truly redefining how international brands navigate China’s complex e-commerce and social commerce landscape,” said Ben Leslie, investment director at Puma Growth Partners.
“The founding team’s deep expertise in Chinese commerce, combined with a mature product ready to scale, makes this a compelling opportunity for us. We’re excited to lead this round alongside fantastic co-investors and we look forward to helping accelerate YASO’s growth.”
The startup previously raised £2m in a pre-seed round in 2023 under its former name Kuai Commerce.
