Rumor: $50 Million Series C for Douban, China’s Homegrown Social Network

Douban (豆瓣), China’s homegrown social network, is rumored to have closed a “third, monster round” of financing for $50 million.

Since posting our inside look at this disruptive SNS, we’ve found four independent sources with secondhand reports of the Series C Round.  That’d be a strong rumor campaign to manufacture, though not unheard of in the Chinese internet industry.

If true, it signals that Douban aims to play in the same league as the big boys. It’s still far behind the largest players (Qzone, Renren, and Pengyou), but I think it’ll continue to rise as Kaixin001 and 51.com also continue to decline. Unlike those latter two, Douban is far more than a flash-in-pan social network of games–it’s here to stay.

In 2006, Douban raised a $2 million Series A round from CEYUAN Ventures. In 2009, it raised a Series B round approaching $10 million, from EZ Capital and CEYUAN Ventures again. Do four second-hand rumors add up to one Series C? We should find out shortly.

Finally, if confirmed, it’s also a win for innovation on the Chinese internet. Cool beans.