WeWork’s Chinese Unit Raises $200 Million

By Amit Chowdhry • Sep 27, 2020
  • WeWork announced it raised a $200 million $200 million follow-on investment in WeWork China led by Trustbridge Partners

Flexible space provider WeWork announced it raised a $200 million $200 million follow-on investment in WeWork China led by Trustbridge Partners. Since the four years since opening its first location in 2016, WeWork China has grown to over 100 locations across 12 cities, providing more than 65,000 members with flexible space solutions. Some of those locations were acquired through the acquisition of its rival Naked Hub.

This investment will enable WeWork China to continue supporting the diverse and growing ecosystem of entrepreneurs, medium-sized businesses, and enterprise companies across the region. WeWork is known for providing members with space, community, and services through physical and virtual offerings. And as of 2020 second-quarter close, WeWork has 843 locations in 150 cities and 38 countries across the world as well as 612,000 memberships with Enterprise representing 48% of that total.

With immediate effect, Michael Jiang has been appointed as the Acting CEO of WeWork China. Before joining Trustbridge Partners as an Operating Partner, Jiang was a Senior Vice President of Meituan-Dianping, one of China’s leading e-commerce platforms for services where he led various businesses and corporate functions including new retail, user platform, and human resources. And before the merger of Meituan and Dianping, Jiang served as Vice President of Product & Operations in 2010 and subsequently in 2014 served as the Chief Strategy Officer at Dianping.

KEY QUOTES:

“WeWork China has built a business that has cemented WeWork’s position across the region as the market leader in flexible space. The value proposition and long-term potential for WeWork is increasingly clear as the demand for flexibility at scale comes to the forefront of businesses around the world. This investment is a testament to our business and in Trustbridge we have truly found the best local partner for WeWork China’s next chapter.”
— Sandeep Mathrani, CEO of WeWork

“Having watched the execution of WeWork in Greater China over the past few years, and the growing need for flexibility accelerated by the pandemic, Trustbridge firmly believes the demand that WeWork provides will only continue to increase. Aligning with Trustbridge’s philosophy in adopting a unique ecosystem-driven approach concentrating on the value of physical space, design and helping companies transform, Trustbridge is confident of the growing demand for space-as-a-service as companies in Greater China continue to grow and maximize the unprecedented growth opportunities ahead.”
— Feng Ge, Managing Partner at Trustbridge Partners