The globalization competition between ofo and Mobike, two of China’s top bike rental giants, is reaching a feverish pitch. Instead of revealing the entrance to overseas markets one by one, ofo announced today that it will be launching in a cluster of four European countries of Russia, Czech Republic, Italy and Netherlands on the September […]
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One app to unlock all bikes gets locked out by ofo and Mobike
A company that promises to aggregate almost all of China’s hire bike companies’ services into one app has seen the door access to the big players’ bikes . The app, called Quannengche (全能车 “Omni ride”—our translation) was released by Shenzhen Qianhai Point to Point Technology Co. Ltd (深圳前海点点科技有限公司) in May, its latest update was July […]
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Mobike announces support for Apple Pay, iPhone iOS 11 camera to accelerate globalization drive
The bike rental war between Mobike and its rival ofo is still ongoing in China, with no end in sight. The pair has been waging an all-out war in terms of bike quantity and technology on and beyond their home turf. Now they set their sight on user experience. Mobike announced yesterday that it has […]
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[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 […]
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Beijing joins list of cities saying no to new shared bikes
China’s dockless bike rental market is fairly young given that major players in the market like Mobike and ofo weren’t born until very recently. The sector has witnessed breakneck development over the past two years in China, but now the fast-evolving industry is reaching saturation at a speed faster than we expected, at least in […]
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Three keys for Asian startups to go global
We are seeing Asian startups expanding globally. This year, most notably Chinese bike rental companies Mobike and Ofo have expanded to Asian, North Americna and European markets. Chinese smartphone manufacturers Huawei and Xiaomi have been also successful in expanding to Southeast Asia and India. So what are the keys for Asian startups to go global? […]
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China Tech Talk 26: The Uber China Mafia with Chenyu Zheng
Some call Uber’s China foray a failure but looking at the DNA of the company, its values of radical ownership and operational focus have reshaped entrepreneurship in China. This week, Matt and John talk about the lasting impact Uber has had on the entrepreneurs and their startups since they exited China. Links Chenyu Zheng: Did Uber […]
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Mobike co-founder sues Q&A site Zhihu for defamation
Mobike co-founder Hu Weiwei is suing the operators of Q&A website Zhihu (知乎) for defamation after a user on the site claimed Mobike staff were involved in corruption. This comes just days after a corruption scandal at main rival ofo and forms part of a growing trend of tech company litigation in China. On May 9, […]
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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 […]
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[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 […]
