Local culture startup raises investment, boosts city's soft power

Shanghai-based tech startup Yunwenbojian has raised "several dozen million yuan" in a new of round of financing to boost digital transformation on art trading, museum upgrade and cultural heritage industrialization, the company announced. 

After the new round of investment, Shanghai Yunwenbojian Information Technology Co now has gaming firms as two of its major shareholders. They are new strategic investor FunPlus and existing and major investor Shengqu Games.

Founded in 2018, Yunwenbojian aims to become a culture and innovation platform covering cultural relics data and art trading, according to company founder Chen Yulin, who is also a veteran game industry executive.

Currently, Yunwenbojian has finished digitalization work for more than 10,000 culture treasures through cooperation with around 300 museums globally. It also works with artists and cultural organizations to record and spread intangible cultural heritage. 

With new investor FunPlus, the company will continue to create a new cultural ecosystem, covering cultural and creative derivatives, educational games, cultural relics, big data, and the combination of culture, tourism, gaming and education.

It hopes to help a city and a country to improve and spread its cultural "soft power", the company said.

Firms, including FunPlus and Shenqu, will attend the ChinaJoy 2021, a gaming trade show, which officially opens on Friday.