Go Launcher, an Android app maker out of Beijing that has been around for nearly a decade and has 42 million monthly active users across a portfolio of apps, just picked up $20 million in funding from Chinese antivirus software giant Qihoo360 and Kingsoft.
Technically, it’s Go Launcher’s parent company Sungy Mobile that picked up funding ahead of an IPO.
The company filed go to public about two weeks ago, and plans to sell 7 million American depositary shares at between $9.50 and $11, making for an offering worth between $66.5 million and $77 million. Those depositary shares represent about 42 million ordinary shares in the company and the IPO could value the company at roughly $300 million.
Go Launcher is behind several Android apps including GO Launcher Ex, which lets users customize their home screen with more than 10,000 themes and GO Locker, which lets Android users open apps directly from the lock screen.
They posted $22.7 million in revenue through the first six months of this year, up 87 percent from the same period the year before. They’re profitable with net income of $5.5 million in that period.
They earn revenue from selling paid apps and premium themes, extra features, advertising and purchases of literary content. The paid apps and premium themes made up more than 40 percent of the company’s revenue in the first half of this year, followed by mobile reading services at 31.8 percent of revenue.
While the company is headquartered in China, about 70 percent of its user base is outside of the country.
