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 […]
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Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inHeavy Hitters
Ofo said to complete a new round of financing led by Didi and Ant Financial
The news of ofo’s E2-2 round comes amid rumors of acquisition by Didi Chuxing.
Posted inNews
Ofo vs Mobike: Northern vs Southern China expansion models
Next time when you meet a Chinese person, ask where they are from. The geographical boundary between northern China and southern China is not precisely defined, but there are rough and approximate stereotypes on Northerners and Southerners’ height, language, and what they eat. At the annual ChinaBang Awards this year, Grace Gu, principal at ZhenFund (backer of ofo), […]
Posted inNews
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 […]
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US firm says ofo leading bike rental race in China
The public spat between Tencent’s CEO Pony Ma and GSR Ventures managing director Zhu Xiaohu over who is the most popular bike rental platform has added fuel to China’s already heated bike rental industry. The discussions between investment moguls make it difficult for onlookers to dig up into the correct figures in the burgeoning market. Even […]
Posted inOn the Cusp
Court froze RMB 1.45 million of Ofo assets this month
While Ofo’s legal troubles pile up, millions of users are reportedly still waiting for their deposits.
Posted inTurf Wars
Some ofo users can’t unlock bikes from Didi app
Amid rumors of ofo’s acquisition by Didi Chuxing, users are encountering errors when attempting to rent the former’s bicycles through the ride-hailing giant’s app. According to the local media, an error is displayed within the app when scanning an ofo bicycle’s QR code. The message says that the problem has been partially repaired, but Didi cannot resolve […]
Posted inTurf Wars
Ofo’s “darkest hour” becomes gloomier as Didi acquisition rumors swirl again
Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing is reportedly closing an acquisition deal of ofo, the last remaining major independent player in China’s bike-rental industry, local media reported citing people familiar with the matter. The source disclosed that Didi already sent due diligence team to ofo over the past two to three weeks. The two parties are […]
Posted inNews
“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 […]
