Lancai

Lancai (Beijing) Data Technology Co., Ltd., operating the platform known as Lancaiwang, was established in November 2013 by founder and CEO Tao Weijie. An alumnus of Tsinghua University, Tao previously served as the product director for the client development department at Sogou, where he was responsible for well-known products like the Sogou input method and browser. Motivated by his own challenges with personal finance and a belief that he needed to start his own venture before turning 30, Tao identified a market opportunity for a simplified, automated wealth management service. This led to the creation of Lancaiwang, a fintech platform designed to provide intelligent asset allocation and wealth management services primarily for urban, white-collar professionals in China.

The company's core product was an automated investment service that used big data and algorithms to match user funds with a portfolio of credit assets, aiming to provide a 'lazy' or hands-off investment experience. The platform's business model was centered on providing users with what it described as a secure and efficient way to achieve returns, offering features like automatic fund allocation and principal protection guarantees. For its B2C client base, Lancai aimed to simplify the complexities of financial products, allowing users to deposit funds and have the platform's technology handle the investment process, promising stable returns with high liquidity. The company generated revenue through service fees on these transactions. The platform gained significant traction, attracting numerous investors and managing substantial capital.

Lancai successfully raised capital through multiple funding rounds, including a Series A from Legend Capital, a Series B led by LeEco, and a Series C round in 2018 involving several publicly listed companies, which signaled strong market confidence at the time. However, the company's trajectory took a dramatic turn. In November 2019, Beijing authorities launched an investigation into the firm for suspected illegal absorption of public deposits. Founder Tao Weijie was subsequently arrested in December 2019. The investigation revealed that the platform had an outstanding debt of several billion yuan owed to its investors, leading to its collapse. This event was part of a broader regulatory crackdown on the peer-to-peer (P2P) lending industry in China.

Keywords: Lancaiwang, Tao Weijie, Beijing fintech, P2P lending, wealth management, asset allocation, Sogou, Legend Capital, P2P collapse, illegal fundraising, financial technology, investment platform, automated investing, Chinese startup, venture capital, fintech scandal, credit assets, online finance, peer-to-peer lending investigation, digital wealth