China dominates the global online shopping landscape, accounting for more than half of worldwide e-commerce sales. Yet, while the market is vast, expected to reach $3.5 trillion by 2030, it is also highly fragmented. Platforms like Douyin, Tmall, and RedNote each operate with their own infrastructure, making it costly and complicated for overseas brands to establish a foothold. Many businesses resort to local distributors, often sacrificing control over their brand image and customer data in the process. YASO eliminates these roadblocks by offering a single, integrated solution covering payments, logistics, compliance, analytics, and storefront integrations.
Scaling ambitions with funding
YASO, the operating system designed to help global brands succeed in China, has closed a £8.25 million Series A round led by Puma Growth Partners. The latest investment round also drew support from Guinness Ventures, Playfair Capital, Haatch Ventures, Sequel, Koro Capital, and several industry angels.
The investment will fuel YASO’s next growth phase. Plans include expanding its sales and marketing reach, accelerating client onboarding, and enhancing its platform capabilities to serve an increasing number of international partners.
Operating system for global brands
Founded in 2022 by serial entrepreneurs Jonny Plein, James Campbell, and Adam Knight, YASO was born from firsthand experience navigating China’s unique digital landscape. Plein previously launched the discount-shopping tool Pouch, which received offers from all five investors on BBC’s Dragons’ Den, while Campbell and Knight co-founded Tong, a marketing agency helping Western brands connect with Chinese consumers. Their combined expertise, plus fluency in Mandarin among two of the three founders, gives YASO a rare advantage in bridging cultural and commercial gaps.
The platform is designed to act as a brand’s full-stack partner, removing the need for costly in-house infrastructure or reliance on third parties. By streamlining everything from tax compliance to logistics, the company enables beauty, wellness, and lifestyle brands such as Pixi Beauty, Nip + Fab, Cowshed, and Faith In Nature to scale efficiently across multiple Chinese platforms.
YASO’s model ensures that brands retain control over positioning, customer experience, and data visibility, key factors for long-term success in a competitive market.
What’s next?
With a 20-member team, YASO positions itself as the go-to gateway for global brands eager to tap into the world’s fastest-growing consumer market. It offers small companies a cost-effective way to enter China without the burden of heavy upfront investment. On the other hand, it provides established names with a scalable framework to manage cross-platform operations seamlessly.
By combining technology with deep cultural understanding, the company is tackling one of the biggest challenges in global commerce, which includes how to navigate and thrive in China’s vast but complex digital economy. With its new funding, the company looks set to cement its role as a trusted partner for ambitious consumer brands worldwide.
Jonny Plein, Co-Founder of YASO, commented: “We couldn’t be happier to be partnering with Puma on this opportunity. We have the team, the tech, the market size and therefore the opportunity to build a $bn business helping brands launch and scale in the world’s largest ecommerce market. We needed an investor who matched YASO’s ambitions, and we have found that in Puma. We are also delighted with the other co-investors, including the Seed investors, both VCs and Angels, who have been there since day 1, who backed us again in this round. We can’t wait to take YASO to the next level!”
Ben Leslie, Investment Director at Puma Growth Partners, added: “We are delighted to be backing the YASO team, who are truly redefining how international brands navigate China’s complex e-commerce and social commerce landscape. The founding team’s deep expertise in Chinese commerce, combined with a mature product ready to scale, makes this a compelling opportunity for us. We’re excited to lead this round alongside fantastic co-investors, and we look forward to helping accelerate YASO’s growth.”
