Nelnet has invested an undisclosed sum in student loans company CommonBond, as well as agreeing to finance up to $150m in loans each year.

The Alibaba-affiliated online payment company has lined up China's National Social Security Fund, Postal Savings Bank of China and China Development Bank as backers.

Alipay, the payment services affiliate of Alibaba, paid a reported $500m for the stake, an investment likely to clear the path for an initial public offering.

Renren-backed SoFi has now raised almost $360m from its last three equity rounds, and will look to expand its loans service throughout the US.

The IDG-backed series A round will be used to expand Zhaosuliao's reach across its home country of China.

Bertelsmann participated in the series A round, which was also backed by Ceyaun Ventures and Source Code Capital.

Tencent and Renren were both among the contributors to the second fund raised by the Israel-based 'super angel investor'.

Car trading platform 51Auto has secured $30m in a round led by SoftBank China Venture Capital, taking its overall funding to about $40m.