Editor’s note: This was originally a two part report by Li Siyi and Jiang Xiaochuan for Tencent Finance. It has been translated and further edited for clarity and style by Linda Lew. In winning the bike-rental “arms race,” the number of bikes on the street has become the critical factor. China’s largest bicycle manufacturing hub has […]
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Ofo becomes first bike-rental unicorn after US$ 450 million series D
Chinese bike-sharing firm Ofo announced today that it has secured US$ 450 million (around RMB 3.1 billion) in its Series D financing, a move that is heating up the already cut-throat competition in this nascent market, our sister site TechNode Chinese is reporting. The round is led by Moscow-headquartered DST, and other investors in this […]
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Ofo signs partnership with Huawei and China Telecom, finally becoming a technology company
Yesterday, Ofo has announced a partnership deal (in Chinese) with China Telecom (中国电信) and Huawei. The partnership will see China Telecom providing wireless data access, Huawei providing NB-IoT chips (PDF), and Ofo providing the bikes. The announcement emphasized a big pain point for the company: their technology. At this point, it’s fairly clear that Mobike and Ofo […]
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Shanghai mulling bike-rental regulations
Shanghai is mulling rules to regulate the sizzling yet reckless development of the city’s bike-rental sector, local media is reporting (in Chinese). The new rules, expected to be introduced in May and come into effect in June or July this year, are the latest government efforts to deal with the growing problems emerging with the bike-rental […]
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The saga of the “bike-rental company that wasn’t” continues
Kala Danche (卡拉单车) is back in business. As you may recall, last week we reported that the company had lost over 75% of their bicycles in less than 20 days of operation. Because of that, their only investor made a quick exit, taking all the user deposits with him and triggering a cascade of questions […]
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How ofo is bringing China’s latest export to the rest of the world
Ofo, China’s latest bike-rental unicorn that Apple CEO Tim Cook paid his tribute to during China visit, is looking beyond the borders of the middle kingdom. “The act of bike-sharing could someday become a lingua franca, connecting people around the world,” said Dai Wei last week at Boao Forum for Asia. The company’s bold global […]
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Ofo founder confirms bike-rental functions will come to Didi app
Editor’s note: A version of this post first appeared on Yicai Global, the English-language financial news service of Shanghai Media Group. Yicai Global is one of just two dedicated Chinese news feeds connected to the Bloomberg terminal. Ofo, one of China’s many bike-rental brands, will be incorporated into Didi Chuxing, the world’s largest ride-hailing platform, according […]
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Bike-rental war escalates with Alipay supporting “scan-and-ride” function for six bike-rental apps
Alipay, the online and mobile payment platform operated by Ant Financial, has teamed up with six bike-rental apps to allow users to rent 6 million bikes in 50 cities across China directly through the app’s new “scan and ride” function. Users can unlock any ofo, YouonBike, Bluebike, hellobike, Ubike or funbike vehicle simply by scanning […]
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Beijing drafts regulations mandating smart locks for bike-rentals in the city
The Beijing government is soliciting public opinion on draft guidelines aimed at reining in the disorderly expansion of the city’s bike-rental sector, local media is reporting (in Chinese). The draft guidance provides that rental bikes should meet national and industry standards, and requires rental bikes should be equipped with smart locks and the satellite positioning system. […]
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Ofo announces partnership with China’s GPS for smart locks
Ofo has announced a strategic partnership with BeiDou Navigation, a Chinese government-backed sattelite positioning system, that will see ofo bikes equipped with Beidou-enabled smart locks, our sister site TechNode Chinese is reporting. Under the agreement, ofo’s bikes furnished with the BeiDou-enabled smart lock will be first launched in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province. In addition, users […]
