Huoqiu

About Huoqiu

Huoqiu, which operated under the domain huoqiu.cn and was also known as Huoqiu Wang (火球网), was a financial technology entity in China's peer-to-peer (P2P) lending sector. The platform was run by Beijing Xuantie Huoqiu Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary fully owned by its parent company, Beijing Xuantie Technology Co., Ltd. The firm's legal representative and CEO was Meng Qingbiao, who established the venture in 2013 after his tenure at Baidu, bringing a technical background to the company's foundation.

The company's core business revolved around an online platform designed to connect individual lenders with borrowers. Its flagship product, the "Huoqiu Plan," was structured as a collective, simplified wealth management vehicle that offered users high liquidity. This model allowed individuals to invest and lend money, starting with very low minimums, with the company facilitating the transactions and managing risk. Revenue was presumably generated through service fees charged on the transactions facilitated between borrowers and lenders on the platform.

Huoqiu showed early promise, securing approximately $330,000 in an angel funding round in February 2014, followed by a $1 million Series A round in September of the same year. However, the company faced significant operational and financial challenges. In 2016, it underwent a major restructuring which included staff layoffs and an office relocation from a prime CBD location to the city's outskirts to manage high costs. Ultimately, the business model proved unsustainable amidst a tightening regulatory environment and intense market competition. The platform ceased operations, and its operating company, Beijing Xuantie Huoqiu Technology Co., Ltd., was officially revoked. In early 2019, it was reported that Meng Qingbiao had been taken into police custody, and the company's affiliated private fund, Changying Wealth, was flagged for being out of contact by the Asset Management Association of China, marking the definitive end of its operations.