New Equity Crowdfunding Platform From JD.com

JD.com, a notable rival to Chinese ecommerce behemoth Alibaba, launched a funding site last week called JD Equity Crowdfunding. JD’s first experiment in crowdfunding, Coufenzi is like Kickstarter in that it lets individuals fund products; JD Equity is instead aimed at entrepreneurs looking for early investors, with the goal of creating a “complete ecosystem for startup companies.”

“We believe that securing funding is only the first step in the success of a startup, and we want to ensure that companies on our platform have all the tools they need to reach their long-term goals,” a spokesperson for JD told TechCrunch.

All projects will be prescreened on the site, which JD says makes them the largest single player in Chinese crowdfunding. The first batch includes a gaming laptop builder and a new social media site called WeBuzz.