Chinese database vendor GBase secures new funding round

On October 24, 2022, GBase announced the completion of a new funding round of hundreds of millions of RMB. The round was led by Legend Capital, with participation from SDIC Venture Capital, Lion City Capital, and co-investors Yusys Technologies, Glory Ventures, XinYiChuang Technology, Suzhou Guofa Group, and Xiangcheng Financial Holding.

GBase is one of the earliest-established independent database product and service providers in China with proprietary intellectual property. It is among the first batch of national Specialized and Sophisticated 'Little Giant' enterprises, a key software enterprise under China's national planning, and a member of the IT Application Innovation Working Committee. For consecutive years, it has been recognized by CCID Consulting as a leading domestic database company. Since its inception, GBase has focused on database infrastructure software R&D, adhering to independent innovation. The core technology and underlying code of its products are self-developed and controllable, and its products have achieved large-scale, mature application in core systems of industries such as finance and telecommunications.

China's infrastructure software market has long been dominated by foreign giants. Database, operating system and other basic software have become another bottleneck for China, aside from the chip sector. In recent years, with frequent information security issues and volatile international relations, the pace of replacing imported technologies with homegrown alternatives in key domestic industries has accelerated, spurred by national policies. Developing the IT Application Innovation (ITAI) industry and promoting the domestic software ecosystem is imperative. Riding this wave, domestic databases are flourishing, competing head-to-head with international players — and GBase is one of them.

After nearly two decades of development, GBase has built a data product portfolio covering the full data management lifecycle and the entire technology stack, offering customers tailor-made database products and services through scenario-based solutions. Chairman Ding Mingfeng stated, “GBase will continue to dedicate itself to domestic substitution in the database field, focusing on creating products that users trust. At the same time, GBase will work with partners to build a domestic ecosystem. Only by growing strong together and keeping core technologies firmly in our own hands can Chinese products truly gain a firm foothold in the international market.”

GBase's self-developed GBase series databases meet the OLAP and OLTP application needs of various industries. Its products and services cover the entire country and are exported to over 30 countries and regions, providing high-quality products and services to more than 100 industries — including finance, telecommunications, government, energy, transportation, and national defense — and serving tens of thousands of users. With over 30,000 deployed nodes, it manages a total data volume exceeding 300PB.

Legend Capital

Legend Capital expressed that database software, as one of the three foundational software pillars, has high technical barriers and immense future potential, and is core to China's information security and the domestically-driven effort to solve bottleneck issues. GBase is one of the leading domestic database enterprises with deep technological accumulation. The company has persisted in independently developing domestic databases for many years, serving core enterprises in critical sectors such as finance, telecommunications, and government, with a wealth of commercially successful benchmark cases. Its products represent the leading level of the domestic database industry in both transactional and analytical databases, while actively exploring cloud-native and distributed technology trends. GBase's core team has profound industry insight and strong execution, firmly committed to independent R&D and technological innovation. We expect GBase to continue deepening its products and achieve even better results, making greater contributions to China's technological security.

SDIC Venture Capital

SDIC Venture Capital stated that database is the crown jewel of computer software and a core component of classic IT systems and the modern data stack. Since its founding, GBase has adhered to the R&D and promotion of domestic databases, proactively grasping IT technology shifts and actively responding to the strategic opportunity of domestic substitution in core information systems. The company's GBase product line includes self-developed, controllable analytical databases, transactional databases, financial-grade distributed transactional databases, and cloud data warehouses, providing customers with full-stack data storage and application solutions. As a national fund management institution, SDIC Venture Capital adheres to serving the national innovation-driven development strategy, filling gaps and strengthening weak links in key industrial chain segments. Going forward, we will work hand in hand with GBase to promote the high-quality development of China's infrastructure software industry and contribute to achieving a high level of technological self-reliance.

Lion City Capital

Lion City Capital Managing Partner Guo Yanni said, “The fund's sponsor, OCBC Bank, and the industrial investor, Yusys Technologies, have long been bullish on the development of the domestic IT Application Innovation industry and the rapid progress of domestic substitution. GBase is a veteran leader in the infrastructure software sector. Through this investment linkage, all parties will provide full product and channel support, including collaboration on existing flagship products such as 8a, 8s, and 8c, while also assisting the company in expanding overseas markets and achieving breakthroughs in broader industry partnerships.”

Yusys Technologies

Yusys Technologies Group Chairman Hong Weidong said: Yusys has been deeply engaged in the fintech sector for over 20 years, continuously optimistic about the growth potential of domestic substitution and actively bringing related technological innovations to market. GBase and Yusys have maintained a close cooperative relationship for a long time, and the two parties' jointly launched financial industry data solutions have already been implemented in multiple banks. By taking a stake in GBase, Yusys aims to deepen cooperation between the two sides, harnessing resource sharing, complementary advantages, and joint product R&D to deliver more secure and mature products to financial institutions, and jointly contribute to the IT Application Innovation industry.

Glory Ventures

Glory Ventures Founding Partner Yang Guang said, “Data infrastructure is an area of key focus and investment for Glory Ventures, with OLTP/OLAP being core segments of data infrastructure. GBase has deep experience in OLTP/OLAP over many years, demonstrating excellent functionality, stability, and reliability. The team has been well-aligned and battle-tested. The company has already gained recognition from numerous top-tier clients, such as the People's Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Mobile, and State Grid. We are optimistic about GBase's future development.”

XinYiChuang Technology

XinYiChuang Technology stated that GBase, as one of the rare independent database service providers in China focused on database product R&D and with large-scale applications in the finance and telecommunications industries, has consistently been a frontrunner in the domestic database space. The partnership between XinYiChuang and GBase will fully integrate XinYiChuang’s experience and technologies in IT Application Innovation consulting & planning, adaptation & validation, and transformation implementation, with GBase's deep database expertise, helping XinYiChuang become a leading national IT service provider. Following this strategic investment, the company will engage in in-depth cooperation with GBase on distributed database product frameworks and performance optimization, use case scenarios, testing and validation, and business requirements, laying a solid foundation for both parties' layout and development in the ITAI sector.

With this round of financing, GBase will accelerate product upgrade and R&D plans and intensify market expansion efforts. As a leading enterprise in the domestic database industry, it will continue to play an active role in supporting the national strategy of domestic IT application development.