Traffic information smartphone app Waze is eyeing a launch in China after securing $30 million (£19 million) in growth capital.

Traffic information smartphone app Waze is eyeing a launch in China after securing $30 million (£19 million) in growth capital.

The funding was received from billionaire Li Ka Shing of Horizons Ventures Hong Kong and venture investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers through their funds, the Digital Growth Fund and iFund.

Horizons Ventures focuses on early-stage companies in the field of telecommunications, media and technology. Li already has stakes in Facebook and Spotify among other investments.

According to a statement from Waze, the funding will be used to support the app’s rapidly growing user base of more than 7 million drivers and to launch its traffic-reporting platform in China.

Waze has also appointed new members to its board, namely John Malloy, managing partner of Blue Run Ventures and Jason Wong of Horizon Ventures. In addition, Mary Meeker, partner at KPCB, has joined the team as a strategic advisor and board observer alongside Josh Silverman, president of American Express US Consumer division and former CEO of Skype.

Noam Bardin, CEO of Waze comments, ‘Since our last round in December, Waze has seen phenomenal growth around the world. Expanding to China, the world’s fastest growing automotive and smartphone market, is an obvious next move for us.’

Waze is a social traffic and navigation app that enables users to share real-time road information. Launched in the UK in June, the app operates entirely on crowdsourced data, from driver-created maps to citizen traffic reports. Other current markets include Israel, Italy, Ecuador, France Spain, Malaysia, Mexico, Brazil and the US.