(Yicai Global) Jan. 17 -- Chinese product development tool developer Agilines Information Technology has garnered tens of millions of yuan in seed funding from famous investors to enhance its cloud-based collaboration platform and to support its workforce.

Lightspeed China Partners, which has invested in plant-based meat firm Starfield and bioplastics developer Blupha, was the biggest contributor to Agilines' latest fundraiser, the Shanghai-based startup said in a press release today. Sequoia Capital China Seed Fund, Miracle Automation Engineering, 4Paradigm Ventures also bought stakes in the firm.

Agilines makes could-native software to help Chinese manufacturing companies improve their product innovation capabilities and efficiency. The startup unveiled its Product Collaboration Platform last year. The research and development platform has been used by Chinese automakers, car parts manufacturers, and intelligent driving companies, according to the press release.

The demand for advanced industrial software, including product lifecycle management systems, is rising as Chinese companies are speeding up their high-end manufacturing and digital transformation, said James Mi, founding partner of Lightspeed China. Agilines's PLM system has world-class capabilities and it can greatly raise the efficiency of product innovation, development, and delivery, he added.

Agilines will continue to focus on product development, expanding in the fields of digital product manufacturing, quality, sales, service, and operation, said the firm. The company intends to increase the number of users working for small and medium-sized enterprises. It is seeking to gradually extend its scale from the automobile manufacturing industry to electric bicycles, machinery manufacturing, home appliances, and other fields.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi