The company’s current valuation has surpassed 170 million yuan. Recently, 720yun.com received a strategic Pre-A round investment of 15 million yuan from Baidu. This round of financing will primarily be used for team talent development and increasing research and development efforts. The company’s CEO, Duan Junkang, revealed that the company’s current valuation has exceeded 170 million yuan. Following this financing round, Sun Wenyu, General Manager of Baidu’s Core Search and Multimodal Search, will also become a director of the company, promoting in-depth cooperation between 720yun and Baidu in various aspects.
Baidu believes that the potential for panoramic content development is enormous, and the relevant business has a high degree of alignment with 720yun. They are filled with confidence and anticipation for this investment and future cooperation. Unlike most VR startups, 720yun is not a product born in the limelight. It originates from one of the founders, Liu Gang’s, fourteen years of profound understanding and cultivation of panoramic imagery. As a photographer, he began shooting panoramic images and practicing in the commercial field as early as 2004. In early 2014, 720yun was born, with its parent company, Kunming Weixiang, becoming its angel investor. The 720yun panoramic content sharing platform was launched in August 2014, primarily providing users with web-based panoramic roaming production tools, helping photographers address the pain points and difficulties in recreating the value of panoramic images, as well as storage and sharing. After four years of iteration, it has grown into a leader in the panoramic content industry, centered around users, supported by tools, and breaking through with content. At the beginning of 2017, 720yun achieved the transformation from blood transfusion to self-sustaining, reaching its profit target. In the same year, it deepened cooperation with Baidu XR, led by Wang Yuliang, in vertical fields such as colleges and scenic spots, further stimulating creators’ enthusiasm for content creation. As of March 2018, it has more than 250,000 panoramic image creators, over 7 million panoramic images, with more than 10,000 new panoramic images added daily, covering more than 500 cities and regions worldwide, with an average daily viewership exceeding 2 million people. Currently, it has formed a complete multi-dimensional system from panoramic learning to commercialization, including panoramic academies (online/offline courses), panoramic production tools (Web/Win/Mac), community apps (iOS/Android), image copyright market, hardware research and development and sales, and shooting crowdsourcing. Weixiang Group CEO Liu Bo stated that 720yun’s focus is now on serving users, reducing content production costs, and supporting creators. This lays a solid foundation for the great development of the panoramic image industry.Over the past four years, 720yun has forged ahead amidst numerous challenges, and now it has finally met with Baidu. This strategic investment is certain to bring a more promising future for 720yun, Baidu, and the entire panoramic industry.
