It is almost two years since Mobike co-founder Hu Weiwei put around 50 bicycles on the streets of Shanghai and drove away. Ofo had a similar beginning, spreading out shared bikes on Beijing’s university campuses. This is how China’s dockless bike rental economy was born—from moves that could easily be branded as crazy. Today, bikes […]
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4 take aways from 34 new Chinese unicorns in 2017: IT Juzi report
A “unicorn” refers to those companies less than 10 years old and valued at $1 billion or more. There were 34 Chinese new unicorn companies in 2017 that match these conditions, according to a new report released by Chinese startup database IT Juzi (IT桔子). In the first half of 2017, rental economy startups gained prominence […]
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[Podcast] China Tech Talk 04: Exclusive interview with Florian Bohnert, Mobike’s Head of International Expansion
This week we switch up the format a bit to do our very first interview! Continuing our discussion of bike sharing, we invited Florian Bohnert, Head of International Expansion at Mobike, to talk about Mobike, bike sharing, and their plans inside and outside China. Questions How did you come to China/start working at Mobike? How […]
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Top 15 apps you need for living in China
Say goodbye to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and welcome your new favorite apps. Here is everything you will need to navigate your China life. 1. Communication: WeChat (微信) The app to rule them all, WeChat is the very definition of indispensable in China. This is where you will connect with your friends, communicate with your […]
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Top 5 massive Chinese fundings in 2017–and the companies behind them
After the capital winter of 2016, tech startup deal activity in China turned strong again in 2017 but in a more rational way. This year’s list of top funding rounds in China features quite a few familiar names. It’s fair that more established companies would get the largest funding rounds but there seems to be […]
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Mobike’s May 1st travel report shows what you can do with bike-rental data
Bike rental company Mobike has released a report of its user data from the Labor Day holiday weekend, providing one of our first pictures that can be built from bike rental data and an idea of how the company wants to reveal what it knows. “May 1st Little Long Holiday Cycling Report,” generated by the Mobike […]
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“Anything can happen”: Ofo and Mobike investors talk about bike-rental war
On March 17, investors in both Ofo and Mobike took the stage at ChinaBang Awards 2017 to discuss the future of the bike-rental industry. Grace Gu, principal at Ofo-investor ZhenFund, and Xu Ying, Executive Partner of Mobike-investor Vertex Ventures talked about where they see the bike war heading. “We cannot say if there will be a merger between these […]
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Sogou input, Taobao, and JD Daojia mobile apps dominate penetration rates in Q3 2017: Jiguang report
As smartphones have become more and more accessible, China has seen a vibrant mobile app scene, ranging from gaming and shopping to dating. In the third quarter of 2017, smartphone users in China downloaded 34 apps on average and used the apps for an average 3.7 hours per day, according to a report from the […]
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Has China’s sharing economy finally jumped the shark?
Bikes, bikes, and more bikes. China’s streets have been invaded by bike rentals of every hue. More and more Chinese entrepreneurs are sparing no effort to jump on the sharing bandwagon. Now, when you walk around the streets or hang around shopping malls, there’s a high chance that you’ll come across a slew of shared […]
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Shanghai Bike-Sharing Battle: Ofo vs Mobike vs Xiaoming
Ready or not, China, once known as the bicycle kingdom, is in the midst of a cycling revival. While the car has rapidly displaced bikes, we now see more than a dozen startups flooding into the dockless bike-sharing arena. Investors have taken their sides in the stiffening battle, but a more pressing question is which […]
