Bike-sharing apps have wheels
- January 5, 2017
- Posted by: Simon Wait
- Category: Industry News
A bicycle-sharing start-up in China has secured $215m in a funding round, underlining the booming market for bike-sharing in the country.
Founded in 2015, Mobike allows users to find, unlock and pay to rent the company’s bicycles through a smartphone app. The series D funding round was led by Tencent Holdings and Warburg Pincus LLC and drew investments from Chinese travel company Ctrip.com International, private equity firm TPG Capital and Huazhou Hotels Group.
Mobike, which operates in nine cities in the country, is not the only player in the market though; main rival ofo, recently raised $130m from investors.
Tencent chairman and chief executive Pony Ma said, ‘Our investment in Mobike demonstrates our commitment to supporting the development of the sharing economy and smart cities in China.’
