Driving Enterprises to Evolve from "Software Companies" to "Data Companies" and Further to "Mathematics Companies"

On June 23, 2022, OpenPie, a domestic cloud-native database quasi-unicorn, announced the completion of a new strategic financing round of hundreds of millions of yuan (RMB). The round was led by Oriza Prior, with follow-on investment from Soochow Securities. Prior to this, OpenPie had received two consecutive investments from top industry funds in the angel round.

Established in 2021, OpenPie is a world-class innovative driving organization in the field of foundational data computing in China, with a mission of "Data Computing for New Discoveries." As one of the few Day-1 quasi-unicorns in this field domestically, OpenPie is dedicated to leveraging groundbreaking computing theories, original cloud-native database flagship products, algorithms, and mathematical models to establish cutting-edge standards for the next-generation cloud-native data platform. It aims to drive enterprises to continuously advance from "software companies" to "data companies" and eventually "mathematics companies," accelerating digital transformation and upgrading. After the completion of this financing round, the company will continue to accelerate the development and market deployment of its cloud-native database πCloudDB, further enhance team building, and advance its global market layout.

Currently, enterprises are facing exponentially increasing demands for massive storage and challenges brought by more hotspots and sudden traffic surges. Enterprises need to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and engage in more intelligent and efficient data computing. In this context, cloud-native databases have become the trend, and various enterprises are aligning with this trend. According to the latest report by Gartner, the Chinese database industry will experience accelerated growth and gradually shift towards the cloud. Over the next four years, the speed of the Chinese database industry's migration to public clouds will surpass the global average. Data from 2020 shows that cloud databases already occupy 40% of the overall database market share. According to Gartner's predictions, by 2022, cloud database revenue will account for more than half of the overall database market.

Based on industry development trends, OpenPie has launched the cloud-native database πCloudDB, adhering to the product philosophy of "ultimately achieving the big data vision." It has redeveloped PostgreSQL 12.X to achieve storage and computing separation while creating a new elastic Massive Parallel Processing (eMPP) distributed technology. It builds a brand-new data computing platform with a cloud-native, analytical, and distributed database as its core. The platform aims to provide enterprises with powerful functionalities such as real-time processing, sub-second scaling, elastic computing, and integrated data analysis. It helps enterprises maximize data value, create new advantages for high-quality development, and serves as a reliable and controllable world-class cloud database foundation in the new infrastructure.

Ray Von, the founder and CEO of OpenPie, is a serial entrepreneur and technology leader in the fields of data cloud and artificial intelligence. Prior to creating OpenPie, Ray was the founder and general manager of Pivotal (China), hailed as the "first cloud-native stock." He had the privilege of working with the former head of the Windows operating system and the founder of Greenplum database, among other global leaders. In less than five years, he successfully led Pivotal to a total valuation of over 5 billion US dollars and listed it on the NYSE (PVTL). He also transformed Greenplum into a globally renowned open-source database. Before founding Pivotal, Ray built a world-leading cloud database scheduling engine at Oracle's Silicon Valley headquarters, a Fortune 500 company.

Meanwhile, OpenPie boasts a strong R&D team and a management team with successful listing experiences. Its core team members mainly come from Fortune 500 companies such as Pivotal, IBM, Tencent, Alibaba, ByteDance, Kuaishou, Oracle, as well as top domestic internet companies. They have graduated from renowned academic institutions such as CMU, Peking University, Tsinghua University, and USTC, and some members have received Olympic medals. The company has always adhered to the concept of "achieving new discoveries through data computing" for enterprises and institutions, creating flagship hardcore technology and products for digital infrastructure, and empowering enterprises and institutions in their digital evolution and advancement.

Li Weiqi, Partner at Oriza Prior, stated, "The scarcity and controllability of core technologies, an excellent and mature team, an attractive business model, a huge market space both domestically and overseas, and the entrepreneur's independent competitive advantage—these are the reasons why Oriza Prior quickly decided to invest in OpenPie. In the era of cloud computing 2.0 driven by data and the digital economy, cloud-native data warehouses will become the key to cloud data traffic, providing customers with better performance, lower costs, and more flexible and adaptable solutions. The overseas market has already verified the enormous market demand and the viability of third-party entrepreneurs' business models. Currently, the development of the domestic cloud environment has entered a new stage, and the demand for cost reduction and efficiency enhancement from customers is there, rather than 'looking for nails with a hammer.' The future of OpenPie is promising."

Guo Jingjing, Head of Equity Investments at Soochow Securities Innovation Capital, said, "The founder's team's confidence in technology and their comprehensive understanding of the market are important factors that led us to join OpenPie. Soochow Securities has always attached great importance to its layout in the digital economy and cloud computing. We have strong confidence in OpenPie and will make every effort to promote its rapid development by leveraging the capital market."

Ray Von, Founder and CEO of OpenPie, stated, "Since its establishment, OpenPie has attracted the attention and recognition of many well-known investment institutions in just 10 months. We appreciate the trust and support of the investors. The completion of this financing round marks the entry of OpenPie into a period of rapid growth. Driven by both capital and talent, OpenPie will simultaneously focus on building the cloud-native database πCloudDB, advancing in technological innovation, global market development, corporate social responsibility, and other areas. It will drive enterprises to continuously advance from 'software companies' to 'data companies' and eventually 'mathematics companies,' creating long-term value for enterprises, the industry, and social development."

About Oriza Prior

Oriza Prior was established in 2010 and is a market-oriented private equity (PE) investment platform under Oriza Holdings. Currently, it manages nine funds with a total AUM (Assets Under Management) of approximately 10 billion yuan. It has invested in over 80 projects and has nurtured the growth of 25 listed companies. Some of its invested projects include SF Holding, Atos, Ricoh Electronics, UCloud, ShanShi Webtech, Qi An Xin, ZJXC, Naxin Microelectronics, Delong Laser, Daguan Data, Yunxi Technology, and Qudong Technology.

About Soochow Securities

Soochow Securities Co., Ltd. was established in 1993 and is a fully licensed comprehensive securities company. It has two wholly-owned subsidiaries, namely, Soochow Securities Venture Capital and Soochow Securities Innovation Capital Management, as well as two holding subsidiaries, Soochow Securities Futures and Soochow Securities Fund. Additionally, Soochow Securities has overseas subsidiaries in Hong Kong, China, and Singapore. With the goal of becoming a leading domestic securities firm, Soochow Securities focuses on customer-centric services and serving the real economy. Leveraging its high-quality client base in the Yangtze River Delta region, Soochow Securities steadily expands its institutional presence nationwide and overseas, increasing its industry influence year by year. From 2015 to 2021, Soochow Securities has consistently received an A-level classification rating in the China Securities Regulatory Commission's regulatory assessment of securities firms.