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Bicycle-sharing company ofo announced on October 10 that it has raised USD 130 million in its series C round. The round was backed by investors such as Coatue, Xiaomi and Didi Chuxing, according to tech blog 36Kr. Another bike-rental startup XiaoMing Bike announced on October 8 that the company has raised RMB 100 million in its series A round financing. This came after its millions-of-yuan angel round announced on September 27. On September 30, Mobike, one of XiaoMing Bike’s major competitors, had raised USD 100 million in its series C round. The round had Hillhouse Capital and Warburg Pincus as lead investors and was also supported by several other investors including Sequoia Capital and Qiming Venture Partners. Prior to that, Mobike’s biggest competitor ofo announced on September 26 that the company has received millions of US dollars from Chinese car-hailing giant Didi Chuxing in its series B+ round. Ofo plans to tap the market beyond school campuses while Mobike is upgrading its bicycles. The two leading companies in bicycle rental business may scale up competition in the sector as investors with the likes of Didi Chuxing, Sequoia Capital and Hillhouse Capital joined the fray. (Translated by Jerry) |
