Best Internet First Media Companies in China
The 192 best Internet First Media companies in China in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Toutiao.
When you're mapping the best Internet First Media companies in China by disclosed equity funding and recent funding momentum, the numbers hit fast. Our directory tracks 192 companies carrying $5.9 billion in total disclosed funding, with 2 unicorns anchoring the top of the stack. Toutiao alone accounts for $3.1 billion of that, and Sina follows at $886 million. That concentration tells you something: the prize pool is real, but it's not evenly spread. Median app-install growth across 4,682 media and online media apps is running at +12% YoY, which means the audience curve is still bending upward even as the sector matures at a ~2.3% CAGR.
So where's the fresh energy coming from? I'd point to two signals. First, on-demand and mobile-first consumption keeps pulling programmatic budgets toward digital-native publishers, which is exactly the gravity Toutiao and Sina were built to absorb. Second, rising themes like audio editors, playback engines and mindfulness content suggest the next funding wave won't look like the last one. Investors like Tencent, IDG Capital and Matrix Partners China are already circling that space, and with Hupu at $339 million and Jiemian News at $150 million rounding out the leaderboard, there's a clear second tier ready to move.
- Galal & Karawi Management Consulting
Ranked: Best Internet First Media companies in China
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founded | Founder | Tech stack | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toutiao 🦄 Personalized news aggregator app | $3.1B | 95 mo ago | Series E | 2012 | Zhang Yiming Founder | TengineReactMobX+4 | — |
| 2 | Sina Provider of product testing and review services | $886M | 69 mo ago | Late Stage | 1998 | Wang Zhidong Founder | Node.jsNginxOpenResty+9 | — |
| 3 | Hupu 🦄 Provider of sports news, real-time scores, and community discussion forums | $339M | 84 mo ago | Acquired | 2004 | Shawn Cheng Founder | Node.jsPHPAnt Design+8 | — |
| 4 | Qutoutiao Mobile content aggregator | $242M | 86 mo ago | Public | 2016 | — | — | — |
| 5 | Hypebeast Multi-lingual digital media platform covering men's fashion & lifestyle | $180M | 49 mo ago | Public | 2005 | — | Cart FunctionalityVideoJSGSAP+34 | — |
| 6 | Jiemian News Online website covering news in China | $150M | 70 mo ago | Series C | 2014 | — | PHPThinkPHPNginx+4 | — |
| 7 | 36Kr Online platform offering science and technology related content 50Moat top 21%Patents top 27%Funding top 32%Market top 37% All 12 signals ▾Moattop 21% Patentstop 27% Fundingtop 32% Markettop 37% Innovationtop 46% Newstop 48% Customersbottom 49% Productbottom 47% Talentbottom 45% Techbottom 44% Globalbottom 38% Growthbottom 32% Moat: Editorial + unicorn rating 8/10 · IP moat: 51 patents Patents: 51 patents matched (strict assignee match) · Lead CPC: H04L41/12 (+1 more areas) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 50/100 | $144M | 101 mo ago | Public | 2007 | — | Node.jsEmotionReact+10 | — |
| 8 | Pear Video Platform for short news and entertainment videos | $125M | 98 mo ago | Series A | 2016 | — | Javacore-jsjQuery+1 | — |
| 9 | Dongqiudi Online portal for football related news | $122M | 92 mo ago | Series C | 2013 | Chen Cong Founder | Node.jsNginxOpenResty+8 | — |
| 10 | Inveno News aggregation mobile apps | $65M | 133 mo ago | Series B | 2010 | Rakesh Barve Co-Founder & CTO | — | — |
| 11 | Autoradio Voice content platform related to automobiles | $58M | 105 mo ago | Deadpooled | 2007 | — | — | — |
| 12 | Happy Juzi Online content portal targeted at youth | $33M | 119 mo ago | Deadpooled | 2013 | — | — | — |
| 13 | Youcheyihou Mobile app for automobile information | $33M | 89 mo ago | Series C | 2014 | — | Node.jsElement UIVue.js+6 | — |
| 14 | XiaChuFang Content driven eCommerce for food items and a recipe sharing platform | $30M | 88 mo ago | Series B | 2011 | — | SentryNode.jsVue.js+9 | — |
| 15 | VIVA Digital magazine reading platform | $30M | 151 mo ago | Series C | 2007 | Han Ying Founder & CEO | — | — |
| 16 | iFensi Online media portal for movies and other entertainment related news | $30M | 109 mo ago | Series B | 2005 | — | PHPApache HTTP ServerSwiper+1 | — |
| 17 | Xxbmm Online portal for parenting | $26M | 104 mo ago | Series B | 2014 | Sun Jing Founder | — | — |
| 18 | Joyme Online media portal for the gamers and developers | $21M | 130 mo ago | Deadpooled | 2011 | Yang Chen Founder & CEO | — | — |
| 19 | Aigou Platform containing information on pets and petcare | $20M | 183 mo ago | Deadpooled | 2005 | Jinfei Chen Founder | — | — |
| 20 | Che Zhen Operator of an online car information platform intended to serve the automobile businesses in China. | $20M | 100 mo ago | Series B | 2015 | — | — | — |
| 21 | Mofang Chinese media platform for the mobile games | $17M | 123 mo ago | Deadpooled | 2013 | Wang Jian CEO | — | — |
| 22 | CoinFi Trading algorithms research platform for cryptocurrency | $15M | 101 mo ago | Funding Raised | 2017 | Timothy Tam Co-Founder | RubyMUIRuby on Rails+29 | — |
| 23 | Yoka Online content portal for luxury fashion | $15M | 149 mo ago | Acquired | 2006 | — | — | — |
| 24 | iYiou Online media portal offering news | $15M | 83 mo ago | Series B | 2014 | Ding Zhibin News Author | Element UITailwind CSSVue.js+8 | — |
| 25 | TMTpost Business & technology information provider | $15M | 83 mo ago | Series A | 2015 | — | Vue.jsNginxcore-js+4 | — |
| 26 | Catjc Online platform for sports news | $12M | 109 mo ago | Series B | 2015 | Song Zhaoyi Co-Founder | — | — |
| 27 | Newtop 100 Digital platform publishing China startup news | $11M | 95 mo ago | Series A | 2016 | Li Zhigang Founder & CEO | — | — |
| 28 | ZAKER Personalised news reading app | $10M | 113 mo ago | Series C | 2010 | — | Nginxcore-jsSwiper+3 | — |
| 29 | 1006.TV Evaluation and review platform for games | $10M | 142 mo ago | Deadpooled | 2009 | Wang Ning CEO | — | — |
| 30 | Lanxiong Sports Online media portal for developments in sports industry and businesses | $8M | 104 mo ago | Series A | 2015 | Li Shuangfu Co-Founder | — | — |
| 31 | 365Scores App-based news aggregator and provider for personalized sports news | $7M | 140 mo ago | Acquired | 2008 | Roy Hayumi Co-Founder & Vp-R&D | Cart FunctionalityApple iCloud MailGoogle Workspace+30 | 1 job opening |
| 32 | 17getfun Personalized content provider | $6M | 96 mo ago | Series A | 2015 | — | — | — |
| 33 | Soul Online platform offering news related to health and wellness | $6M | 104 mo ago | Series A | 2015 | Li Wei Founder | — | — |
| 34 | Caixin Media Online News Platform | $6M | 123 mo ago | Series D | 2010 | Tang Ziyi | Cart FunctionalityNode.jsRadix UI+9 | 1 launch · 1 partnership |
| 35 | IDaddy Mobile apps providing education related content for kindergarten students | $5M | 97 mo ago | Series B | 2012 | Li Wenhua Founder | — | — |
| 36 | Trip Vivid Online media focusing on travel and tourism | $4M | 109 mo ago | Series A | 2014 | Zhou Long Co-Founder | PHPAnt DesignNginx+4 | — |
| 37 | Soccerapp Online media portal for football | $4M | 131 mo ago | Deadpooled | 2015 | — | — | — |
| 38 | WanPlus Online content platform to find information about eSports events | $3M | 99 mo ago | Deadpooled | 2015 | Pinqi Zhao Founder & CEO | — | — |
| 39 | Jiuhuar Online information platform for beer enthusiasts | $3M | 101 mo ago | Series A | 2015 | Kai Shen Founder | PHPBootstrapNginx+6 | — |
| 40 | Meta Era Provider of media outlet promoting the application of Web 3.0 technology | $2M | 9 mo ago | Seed | 2023 | Vito Zheng Founder | Element UIVue.jsNginx+9 | — |
| 41 | Lightning Dubbing Text-audio converting platform | $2M | 95 mo ago | Seed | 2017 | Meng Hongbing Founder & CEO | PHPThinkPHPstyled-components+6 | — |
| 42 | Feng Content on mobile gaming apps | $2M | 140 mo ago | Seed | 2007 | — | Vue.jsNginxCNZZ+2 | — |
| 43 | HiBetterMe Mobile content platform for women | $2M | 104 mo ago | Deadpooled | 2014 | Jiutian Xi Founder & CEO | — | — |
| 44 | SV Insight Online media portal covering tech related news | $2M | 90 mo ago | Series A | 2014 | Yi Lu Co-Founder | — | — |
| 45 | PencilNews Online platform offering news related to finance | $2M | 97 mo ago | Series A | 2015 | Roman | Node.jsUbuntuReact+9 | — |
| 46 | Forkast News Online platform offering blockchain news | $2M | 61 mo ago | Seed | 2018 | Sarah Chang Co-Founder | WordPress Block EditorWordPressMySQL+34 | 2 launchs |
| 47 | Notey Blog aggregator | $2M | 136 mo ago | Seed | 2013 | Catherine Tan Chief Strategy Officer & Founder | DreamWeaverScalaJava+20 | — |
| 48 | Guangzhou Aizang Network E-commerce Online news portal focused on finance news | $2M | 101 mo ago | Deadpooled | 2005 | Ai Zangwang Founder | PHPBootstrapLaravel+10 | — |
| 49 | IPRdaily Media portal targeted at IP (intellectual property) workers | $2M | 122 mo ago | Series A | 2014 | — | — | — |
| 50 | Wezeit Curated content platform targeted at Chinese youth | $2M | 117 mo ago | Deadpooled | 2014 | Yifan Zhang Co-Founder | — | — |
Top 12 Internet First Media companies in China
#1
Seed · Hong Kong, Hong Kong · founded 2023$2.5Mraised▾
Provider of media outlet promoting the application of Web 3.0 technology. It provides accurate and professional information to the public and industry professionals on blockchain.
- Aug 2025Seed$2.5M
- Jun 2023Seed—
#2
Toutiao 🦄Series E · Beijing, Beijing · founded 2012$3.1Braised▾
Toutiao is a personalized news aggregator app. It tries to integrate the most relevant contents for users by gradually learning what the readers enjoy through analysis of data obtained from their social networking accounts. It features a recommendation engine based on deep learning and data mining. It analyzes the articles that a user reads, how much time they spend on it and based on such factors, recommends content.
- Jun 2018Series E—
- Aug 2017Series E$2B
- Dec 2016Series D$1B
- Jun 2014Series C$100M
#3
Late Stage · China · founded 1998 · 8300 employees$885.8Mraised▾
Provider of product testing and review services. This platform facilitates the connection between manufacturers and consumers, offering opportunities for individuals to test products before purchase. Users submit reviews and feedback, providing valuable insights for both manufacturers and potential buyers. The service includes a variety of product categories and features user-generated content, such as reviews and articles.
- Aug 2020Post IPO$5.8M
- Nov 2013Post IPO$700M
- Sep 2009Post IPO$180M
#4
Public · Hong Kong, Hong Kong · founded 2005 · 615 employees$180Mraised▾
Hypebeast is a multi-lingual digital media platform providing the latest cultural news as well as information and updates on contemporary men's fashion, streetwear, music, design, arts, and more. As of April 2017, has 3.4M+ likes on its Facebook page and claims to attract 9M+ unique monthly visitors. Monetizes through display and video ads as well as sponsored content and its e-commerce publication, HBX.
- Apr 2022Post IPO$180M
#5
Hupu 🦄Acquired · Shanghai, Shanghai · founded 2004 · 218 employees$338.7Mraised▾
Provider of sports news, real-time scores, and community discussion forums. The platform delivers current information spanning various sports leagues and events. It offers a space for fans to engage in conversations and share opinions. The site includes sections dedicated to basketball, soccer, and e-sports.
- Jun 2019Series F$182.3M
- Jan 2018Series E$95M
- 2015Series D$38.6M
- 2014Series C$16.3M
#6
Series C · Beijing, Beijing · founded 2014 · 300 employees$149.9Mraised▾
Jiemian is an online new website in China, focusing on covering business, entertainment, culture, science and technology and finance fields. The website also features videos. It also has mobile apps for android and apple devices.
- Aug 2020Series C$71.5M
- Jul 2016Series B$45M
- Sep 2015Series A$14.1M
- Jul 2015Series A$5.7M
#7
Public · Shanghai, Shanghai · founded 2016 · 1110 employees$242Mraised▾
Mobile content aggregator. It optimizes articles and short videos based on users profiles, behaviour, and social relationships through its AI-enabled content recommendation engine. The app is available for Android and iOS users.
- Mar 2019Post IPO$171M
- Mar 2018Series B$200M
- 2017Series A$42M
#8
Public · Beijing, Beijing · founded 2010$143.9Mraised▾
Online platform offering science and technology related content. The platform offers news on technology, internet, entrepreneurship, startups, and more. It also offers videos, activities, live broadcast, corporate services, government services, investor services, and more.
- Jan 2018Series F$92M
- Dec 2017Series E$45.3M
- Oct 2015Series D—
- Nov 2014Series C—
#9
Series C · Beijing, Beijing · founded 2013 · 80 employees$122.4Mraised▾
Dongqiudi is an online portal for football-related news. Claims that it publishes more than 100 articles on football per day. It provides news, highlights, and other information related to football. Has close to 20 professional football columns which offer analysis on the games happening around the world.
- Oct 2018Series C$57.8M
- Aug 2016Series C$50.7M
- Sep 2015Series B$10M
- May 2014Series A$4M
#10
Series A · Shanghai, Shanghai · founded 2016 · 500 employees$124.8Mraised▾
Pear Video is a China-based online, short news video streaming platform. The platform brings news in short edited clips, usually less than a minute, showing news footage and audio with bold captions that explain the background and news value, accompanied by music. The featured content in exclusively in Mandarin. The initial focus of the company was on political and breaking news but as of April 2018, the platform produces over 1,500 short videos each day on topics spanning society, lifestyle, technology and more, attracting one billion daily views. It is compatible with both Android and iOS devices. The company entered into strategic cooperation with Zoomin.TV which is a media and entertainment platform to establish a network for video content creators.
- Apr 2018Series A$98.2M
- Nov 2017Series A$26.6M
#11
Deadpooled · Beijing, Beijing · founded 2007 · 13 employees$58.2Mraised▾
Autoradio is a voice content platform related to automobiles. Founded in 2007, AutoRadio has established close cooperation relationships with more than 300 channels of 200 radios all over the country and gained official membership of China Mainstream Automobile Media Alliance in August 2012.
- Sep 2017Series C$30.7M
- Jun 2014Series B$27.5M
- Oct 2011Series A—
#12
Series B · Shenzhen, Guangdong Province · founded 2010 · 201 employees$65Mraised▾
Inveno is the developer of Xiaozhi, a news aggregation mobile app. Xiaozhi's mobile apps provide users with customized content based on each individual's interests and big data analysis. Inveno also launched Hottoday, a news aggregation app in India in September 2015.
- Apr 2015Series B$32.7M
- Jul 2014Series A—
- Jan 2011Seed$32.3M
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Sweetie watches where the money and the users are piling in. She covers sector wealth and momentum — the install curves and revenue pools that show which corners of the market are quietly on fire.