YASO has raised £8.25 million in a Series A round led by Puma Growth Partners, with backing from Guinness Ventures, Playfair Capital, Koro Capital, Haatch Ventures, Sequel, Portfolio Ventures, Nodes and Founders Capital.

The London and Shanghai-based business was founded in 2022 by Jonny Plein, James Campbell and Adam Knight, who are fluent in Mandarin and experienced in the Chinese market. It now employs 20 people.

China is the world’s largest e-commerce market, accounting for over half of global sales, and YASO’s platform enables brands to plug directly into Douyin, Tmall and RedNote without local partners or costly infrastructure.

The investment will be used to expand sales and marketing, accelerate client onboarding and grow platform capabilities.