(Yicai Global) Aug. 26 -- Alibaba Group Holding has poured hundreds of millions of Chinese yuan into Shenzhen Xiaoman Technology in Series D financing, giving the Chinese e-commerce giant a 70 percent stake in the Software as a Service provider, tech media 36kr reported today.

The company will continue to operate independently after the cash injection, the Shenzhen-based firm said. The funds will be mainly used for research and development and product upgrades, it added.

Xiaoman's main product is the OKKI customer relationship management software for foreign trade which manages the whole trading process from front-end buying to sales. It uses AI technology to accurately match companies with potential customers.

Alibaba plans to integrate the CRM system into its e-commerce platform Alibaba.com, which specializes in helping small and medium-sized firms expand in the international market. The CRM system will allow it to more intelligently help companies promote themselves and their products to overseas buyers.

The growth rate of OKKI CRM has doubled every year for the past three years, said Chief Executive Officer Wen Boliang.

Xiaoman, set up in 2013, employs around 200 people, with one third being in R&D. It has over 10,000 foreign trade customers.

Editor: Kim Taylor