(Yicai Global) March 8 -- Wang Xing, founder and chief executive of Chinese takeout titan Meituan, intends to participate in the Series A fundraising of his co-founder's new startup Guangnianwai Technology.

Wang Xing said in a statement on his WeChat today that he will be appointed as director at Guangnianwai, a Beijing-based startup that is deemed to become China's answer to Microsoft-backed OpenAI. However, he did not disclose more financial details.

After retiring from Meituan in 2020, Wang Huiwen said last month that he will tap into the artificial intelligence industry to turn Guangnianwai into China's equivalent of OpenAI, the firm behind chatbot ChatGPT. At that point, Wang Huiwen was the sole owner of the startup established in 2018.

The entrepreneur also said last month that he will sell a 75 percent stake in the firm to invite top research and development talents to join. He added that Guangnianwai was valued at about USD200 million at that point and some top venture capitalists have decided to invest USD230 million in the firm in the next funding round.

The two Wangs, aged 44, became friends at university and founded Meituan in 2010. Wang Xing currently has around 9 percent of Meituan's equity and therefore is the second-largest shareholder of the on-demand service provider after Chinese internet behemoth Tencent Holdings, according to public data.

Meituan's Hong Kong-listed shares [HKG: 3690] dropped 4.4 percent to close at HKD131.90 (USD16.80) today.

Editor: Emmi Laine