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Aiwujiwu

Proptech / online property agencyChina
New to Unitard
πŸ’€ Dead / Bankrupt
PeakΒ $1 BillionToday
~-100%
from peak
  1. πŸ¦„
    Became a unicorn
    May 2015
  2. πŸ“ˆ
    Peak valuation
    $1 Billion ’15
  3. πŸ’”
    Became a Unitard
    Jan 2019
  4. πŸ’Έ
    Last valuation
    Wiped out
Capital raised
$350M
Total raised
$197K/day
Raised per day

Total raised averaged per day over approximately 4.9 years from founding to bankruptcy or shutdown. This is not measured cash burn. Methodology

Funding: AVCJ (Nov 2015): about $350M over five rounds; China Money Network gives $305M
Current status
Rental and resale business ended at the end of Jan 2019; website and app offline by mid-Feb 2019; Chinese media reported a wind-down liquidation (no court filing located)

The rise & fall

7 moments Β· 2014–2019

The key moments.

Mar 2014
Founded in Shanghai by former Tudou executives
Sam Lai and Deng Wei set out to rent and sell homes online at far lower commissions than traditional agents.
AVCJ
Sep 2014
No commission for Shanghai tenants
Aiwujiwu waives rental fees for tenants and charges 1% on home sales to grab market share.
Jiemian
May 7 ’15
The peak: $120M Series D at a reported $1B$1B
GGV Capital and Morningside lead the round; the company tells local media it values the start-up at $1B.
AVCJ
Nov 16 ’15
$150M Series E led by Temasek and Hillhouse
Total funding reaches about $350M and staff about 16,000; no valuation is disclosed.
AVCJ
2016
Fees up, agent pay down, mass layoffs
The subsidies end, market share collapses, and layoffs through early 2017 shrink the staff to about 400.
National Business Daily
Jan 2019
Rental and resale business ends β€” joins the Unitard Club πŸ’”
Operations stop at the end of January. By mid-February the website redirects elsewhere and the app shows only an error page.
National Business Daily
Feb 2019
Liquidation reported
Insiders tell Chinese media the company has entered a wind-down liquidation; no court filing has been located.
21st Century Business Herald
$1Bof peak value erased Β· 5 years

How it happened

Aiwujiwu (ηˆ±ε±‹ε‰ε±‹) was a Shanghai online property brokerage founded in 2014 by former Tudou executives Sam Lai (ι»Žε‹‡εŠ²) and Deng Wei (ι‚“θ–‡). It undercut traditional agents by waiving rental commissions for Shanghai tenants and charging 1% on home sales.

A $120M Series D led by GGV Capital and Morningside in May 2015 valued it at a reported $1B. A $150M round led by Temasek and Hillhouse followed that November, taking funding to about $350M. The subsidies could not last.

In 2016 it raised fees and cut agent pay, its market share collapsed, and mass layoffs took staff from more than 10,000 to about 400. Its rental and resale business ended in January 2019, and Chinese media reported that it had entered liquidation.

Source: AVCJ (May 7, 2015): $120M Series D led by GGV Capital and Morningside values the start-up at $1B, per the company's statements to local media; Fortune's 2016 unicorn list: $1B, CEO Sam Lai. AVCJ (Nov 16, 2015): $150M Series E led by Temasek and Hillhouse, about $350M raised in total, valuation not disclosed. Pedaily (Aug 2015) and 36Kr on earlier rounds. National Business Daily, YiMagazine (Yicai), Jiemian/21st Century Business Herald and 36Kr (Feb 19-21, 2019): operations stopped at the end of January 2019, site and app offline, co-founder Deng Wei said the whole-flat rental and resale businesses had ended; insiders described a wind-down liquidation. YiMagazine also cites an undated valuation of about RMB 6B.

Founders

  • Sam Lai
    co-founder & CEO (led at peak)
    No public profile matched
  • Deng Wei
    co-founder
    No public profile matched

Disclosed investors (6)

Historical funding participation; lists may be incomplete and do not establish current ownership or investor losses.

* Lead in a funding round Β· Crunchbase β†— Β· 2026-10-22 Β· Methodology Β· Leaderboard

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