(Yicai Global) Sept. 6 -- Wang Xin, best known for dominating China's video-streaming sector with QvodPlayer -- the app that saw him put behind bars -- has raised USD30 million in angel funds for a new artificial intelligence venture named Ringle AI.

Bertelsmann Asia Investment Fund and IDG led the round, online news portal Lieyiun reported. Wang set up Ringle in February and it specializes in AI dispatch systems, which ensure secure data transmission using blockchain technology.

Wang was released from prison on Feb. 7, just less than three weeks before founding the new company. He had been locked up for running QvodPlayer, a media platform which granted viewers access to pirated content and pornography. He was apprehended by Interpol in 2014, state-owned news agency Xinhua reported at the time.

In 2016, a Beijing court hit him with a 42-month prison sentence for "distributing obscene materials for personal gain," South China Morning Post reported in February. His firm Qvod Technology filed for bankruptcy in Shenzhen last week and the courts are reviewing its case.

Qvod Player was once China's most popular media player by market share and pioneered what is now a vastly popular sector nationwide. Top players nowadays include the likes of Bilibili and AcFun, both of which have run into content troubles but without losing their executives to the judicial system, yet.

Authorities forced Bilibili and several other platforms out of Chinese app stores for a month starting late July. When Bilibili returned it had lost almost USD700 million in market cap through its Nasdaq listing.

Editor: James Boynton