Chinese app-maker finds Indian market 3 times larger than China's

APUS makes a number of popular tools for Android, such as battery boosters and an Android launcher app, reports Tech in Asia

Chinese app maker APUS just made an unusual announcement: India is its fastest growing market with 16 per cent users. Only five per cent of its users are in China. So the company is planning to invest upwards of $44 million into India, and will go on a hiring spree to get a 200-people team going in its new office in the country.

APUS makes a number of popular tools for Android, such as battery boosters and an Android launcher app.

The $44 million will go into setting up APUS’ new research and development centre, a sales and business development office in Gurugram (previously called Gurgaon), and a start-up incubator. The money will be deployed by the end of 2017, APUS announced on Thursday.

The Chinese company first made its India ambitions clear when it announced an ‘APUS Fund in India’ of $44 million last year. The fund, co-led by APUS along with Northern Light Venture Capital, Redpoint Ventures, Chengwei Ventures LLC, SIG Global, and Qiming Venture Partners, focuses on "mobile internet innovation projects in the Indian market", APUS had announced in December 2015. 

The fresh capital infusion will take APUS’ investment in India to $88 million. In June, the company announced that it reached $15 million in revenue.

"India is going through one of the most exciting shifts with mobile at the moment, with it rapidly embracing 4G and smartphones. India has among the best computer scientists in the world. Investing in the country will help APUS to accelerate our plans and deliver new, innovative services through our ecosystem," Tao Li, founder and CEO of APUS, said.

This is an excerpt from Tech in Asia. You can read the full article here