Snowball Finance ("Xueqiu")

Snowball (in Chinese: 雪球; XueQiu), a social network and information portal for investors in China, has secured a US$40 million series C round of funding led by Renren (NYSE:RENN) with participation from Sequoia China and Morningside. Xueqiu is now one of the most popular financial social networks among Chinese investors in China. It has attracted a large number of professionals in financial sector to contribute financial analysis reports. The company raised Series B funding of US$10 million last year and US$3.2 million in Series A in 2011. Xueqiu’s main site allows investors to examine data across US, Hong Kong, and Chinese stock markets, along with several bonds, funds, trusts, and Bitcoin. Users can get alerts, news bulletins, and price changes. They can also follow other investors and communicate with them. Xueqiu apps are available for iOS and Android. With this latest investment, Xueqiu will work toward a broker system that will allow members to buy and sell stocks on its website and apps.