Gravity Yuhua, a Chinese animation content development company, secured 20 million RMB in Pre-A financing to enhance its innovative food-themed animated IP and expand into live streaming and e-commerce.

Target Information

The animation content development company Gravity Yuhua has successfully completed a Pre-A financing round, raising 20 million RMB. The round was led by Aimo Fund, with participation from Hongyi Investment, Weiguang Venture Capital, and Shengjing Jiacheng. Established in 2016, Gravity Yuhua initially focused on animation production, creating two seasons of its original culinary series, "Gourmet Soul." In 2019, the company expanded into the short video content market, developing food-related animated IPs such as "I Am Not Eating for Nothing" and lifestyle IP "I Am Not Using for Nothing." Notably, the animated series "I Am Not Eating for Nothing" has garnered 14 million followers on Douyin and received over 2 billion likes, accumulating more than 4 billion views across all platforms.

Facing common challenges in monetization like many startups, Gravity Yuhua found its turning point in the third year of operations. The founders realized that strategic choices were crucial for the business's success, pivoting from pure animation to integrating commercial opportunities such as brand placements. Although the company faced initial struggles with cost recovery solely through original content, their ability to generate engaging narratives led to critical partnerships and expansive audience reach.

Industry Overview in China

The animation industry in China has seen remarkable growth, driven by the rising popularity of digital content platforms. With an increasing number of consumers engaging with short videos, the sector has transformed