Despite the rumors and speculation surrounding a possible merger between Mobile and ofo, Mobike co-founder and CEO Davis Wang has made it clear again at TheYearAhead Summit that a “merger is not an option for the company,” local media is reporting. Similarly, ofo founder and CEO Dai Wei also expressed previously that the company would not […]
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Mobike lands in Washington D.C., their first US city
Mobike, a major Chinese bike-rental company, has just placed their first batch of bikes in the capital of the United States as part of its ambitious global expansion plan. Closely following its largest rival ofo’s footprint, Mobike chose Washington D.C. as the first city in America to start running its business, whereas ofo just a month ago […]
Mobike vs ofo: The race for the world’s bike rental market
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 […]
[Updated] Mobike jumps on hongbao bandwagon with “Mobike, mo’ money”
Mobike announced yesterday (in Chinese) that their app will now include the option to ride for hongbao (红包 or “red envelopes” in English). Similar to Pokemon GO, users can “hunt” for Mobike red envelope bikes (摩拜红包车). After riding one of the “Bonus Bikes,” as the company calls them, for at least 10 minutes, users are then […]
Mobike joins ofo in Singapore with official launch
Months after dropping a hint for taking its services to overseas market, China’s top bike-rental startup Mobike announced today the launch of its hugely popular bike-sharing service in Singapore, the first stop of Mobike’s global expansion. Mobike’s operation in Singapore features its typical scan-and-go service. Singapore residents can now ride a Mobike by downloading the […]
Mobike teams up with China’s largest thin-film solar cell manufacturer
Bike-rental startup Mobike and China’s largest thin-film solar cell manufacturer Hanergy Holding Group (汉能) announced yesterday a strategic partnership that will see the latter’s thin-film solar panels integrated into the body of a Mobike bicycle so as to meet the electricity demand of its smart locks. The tie-up will give the bike-rental service a bigger […]
[Podcast] China Tech Talk 03: Bike sharing business models – Mobike and ofo
John and Matthew go deeper on bike sharing and respond to some listener feedback. Questions they answer: How many bikes are on the streets? How many users do Mobike and ofo have? How much are these two companies worth? How do they generate revenue? What are some potential monetization strategies? How do Mobike and ofo […]
[Infographic] The differences between Mobike and Ofo
As the ride-hailing wars have disappeared, the latest war is bike-sharing (more like bike-rental), with Mobike and Ofo leading the pack. In case you weren’t sure how exactly they are different, WakeMeChat has made this handy infographic: Mobike’s technology seems to be a bit better, but how either company is actually making money is still a […]
Mobike announces “Magic Cube,” an AI made from its mountains of user data
Bike-rental startup Mobike announced yesterday the launch of its artificial intelligence (AI) data monitoring platform dubbed “Magic Cube”, in its renewed efforts to fight against its rivals, our sister site TechNode Chinese is reporting. This is the first time that AI has found its application in the bike-rental sector. “Magic Cube” is able to make […]
Tencent ups the bike-rental ante with largest funding round so far
Mobike today announced that it has raised over US$600 million in Series E, the largest ever financing round in the bike-rental industry. This landmark round, putting the company at a valuation of between US$2 billion and US$3 billion (in Chinese), was led by existing investor Tencent and joined by Sequoia China, TPG, and Hillhouse Capital, among […]