Fox ESS, a Chinese developer of solar inverters and energy storage solutions, has raised over 1 billion yuan ($141.5 million) in its pre-initial public offering (IPO) funding round led by Sparkedge Capital, the firm announced on Friday.

The deal saw Fox ESS reach a valuation of over 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion), said the firm in a post on its WeChat official account.

The valuation update comes less than four years after Fox ESS secured a bank loan of 500 million yuan ($70.8 million) in October 2019, according to its website, which did not disclose its valuation at the time.

Fox ESS claims that its total revenues from the past three years or so have crossed 2 billion yuan ($283.1 million). The firm first introduced its products to the market in April 2020.

The pre-IPO round provides Fox ESS with ample financial support for its product R&D, general business operations, and manufacturing expansion, including the construction of its Phase II production facilities. With the new financing, the firm targets to enhance its core competitiveness and accelerate business growth in the global new energy market.

The investment is the latest growth-stage new energy deal in China – the world’s largest and fastest-growing producer of renewable energy – as mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are also booming in the market. The disclosed M&A deal value in China’s new energy sector surged to an all-time high of 391.7 billion yuan ($55.4 billion) in 2022, with a total of 716 transactions, data from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) shows.

Founded in 2019 and headquartered in eastern China’s Wenzhou City, Fox ESS offers a portfolio of products including electric vehicle (EV) chargers, lithium batteries, as well as solar and hybrid inverters. The firm operates two R&D centres in the Chinese cities of Wuxi and Wuhan.

As part of the deal, Sparkedge Capital will bring Fox ESS its resources in the new energy sector. Founded in 2015, the Shanghai-based investment firm has backed companies such as energy storage startup Hithium, tech-enabled energy management solutions provider JK Energy System, and solar panel manufacturer Astronergy.