UIC alumni's business selected for unicorn incubators

Zhuhai Travel Tao Co Ltd, a company set up by alumni of UIC, has been selected for the 2019 Zhuhai’s unicorn incubators as seeded high-growth innovative enterprises and is the only FinTech business selected in the Zhuhai National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone.

The founder and CEO of Zhuhai Travel Tao, Ltd. is Chen Jiaxin, who is a graduate of UIC in 2010 majoring in Government and International Relations (GIR). Travel Tao’s product xCurrency is a practical exchange rate query and conversion tool. Users can freely query and convert real-time exchange rates between more than 210 legal currencies.

The xCurreny app currently has more than 90 million downloads worldwide. It covers more than 160 countries and regions around the world. In September 2019, xCurrency completed tens of millions of RMB in Series A financing.

The aim of selecting these start-up companies, which are referred to as Unicorn enterprises of Zhuhai, is to accelerate the cultivation of pioneering leading companies with strong innovation capabilities, rapid growth and can lead and support the development of the industry.

The selected companies are not only the engine of new economic development, but also the initiating new industry development. The enterprises that have entered the list for the first time will be given 2million RMB in research and development start-up funds.

Setting up scholarships to encourge curiosity 

Chen Jiaxin is from Fujian; he grew up among the mountains. Since childhood, he has enjoyed exploring the boundaries of the mountains. After arriving at UIC, he realised that this desire to explore the border was his curiosity.

Chen Jiaxin

In his spare time, Chen Jaixin organised mountain climbing activities and founded outdoor sports clubs. The professional knowledge he learned at UIC made Chen Jiaxin more aware of how to integrate with the international community as well as develop a curiosity that became the basis for his future entrepreneurship.

After graduating, Chen Jiaxin along with a few classmates started a business together and founded the Roam Tao project to help Chinese tourists travel to overseas diving destinations.

During 2013, Chen Jiaxin and several entrepreneurial partners established Zhuhai Travel Tao Co Ltd and independently developed a set of SaaS systems that serve overseas resort merchants.

The xCurrency is the product of these cross-border scenarios. While providing currency information services, Chen Jiaxin also hopes that users will get more cross-border financial services through xCurrency.

After graduation, Chen Jiaxin has been looking for opportunities to give back to his alma mater. At the Scholarship Award Ceremony for the 2018-2019 academic year, three new scholarships were first unveiled, one of which was donated by Chen Jiaxin’s enterprise known as the xCurrency Curiosity Scholarship.

The two selected recipients of this scholarship both each receive 50,000 RMB. Its requirements for the applicants is to have a strong desire for exploration in a certain field or project in addition to making breakthroughs and innovations.

UIC President Prof Tang Tao (left) with Chen Jiaxin who sets up xCurrency Curiosity Scholarship at UIC

Chen Jiaxin explained that he hoped that he would not only provide financial assistance to students with strong curiosity, but also encourage them not to give up. As the slogan of the xCurrency Curiosity Scholarship states: "Facing the unknown, curiosity is the key to finding a way." In the future, Chen Jiaxin hopes to set up a venture fund with alumni at UIC.

Reporter: Lauren Richardson
Editors: Covee Wang, Samuel Burgess, Deen He
(from MPRO)