Beijing-based ride-hailing platform Shouqi Yueche has closed its Series C round, bagging hundreds of millions of dollars, 36Kr reported on Friday, without revealing any other financial details.
Shouqi declined to comment when contacted by KrASIA on Monday.
This round comes three years after Shouqi bagged RMB 700 billion (USD 100 million) from investors including Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) and Nio Capital, the venture capital arm of electric vehicle maker Nio (NYSE: NIO), in its Series B+ round in 2017.
Investors seem to have picked up confidence in the ride-hailing sector, which was negatively affected after China’s largest ride-hailing platform, Didi Chuxing, ran into several safety scandals in 2018.
In May of that year, one female passenger was sexually assaulted and killed by a driver for carpooling platform Didi Hitch, while another female passenger was murdered in August 2018. Following the cases, the Chinese government initiated investigations into Didi and other ride-hailing platforms, demanding stricter safety measures, making investors cautious in this sector.
Dida, another major ride-hailing platform in China, has raised no new funds since it closed its Series E round in August 2018 but has filed for an initial public offering via the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong earlier this month, KrASIA reported.
Founded in 2015 by state-owned tourist bus fleet operator Shouqi Group, Shouqi Yueche has acquired 113 million registered users as of September, 31.3% up compared with one year ago, and gathered more than 1.13 million drivers in more than 160 cities, increasing 32.7% year-on-year, according to 36Kr.
Shouqi Yueche, which operates various fleets for different groups such as mothers and kids, students, couples to hold wedding ceremonies, and the disabled, has been positive in terms of gross profits and is predicating to be profitable in terms of EBITA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization) in the fourth quarter of this year, 36Kr added.
As a state-backed platform, Shouqi Yueche has a stronger presence in railway stations and airports in China than any other ride-hailing platform, according to the company’s website.