China’s leading bike-sharing company Mobike has reportedly just closed a new financing round worth as much as US$1 billion, according to Caixin.
The company closed a record-breaking Series E round last June, mopping up US$ 600 million from Tencent, Sinovation Ventures, Sequoia Capital and other investors.
The fresh financing would raise Mobike’s total funding amount to US$1.9 billion.
While Mobike is probably celebrating the fresh financing, the company’s archrival Ofo is also seeking to raise US$ 1 billion from investors including Alibaba. But the round hasn’t been closed yet as its major shareholder Didi reportedly refused to greenlight the deal.
Read more at Didi Reportedly Curbs Ofo Financing Amidst Launching An Ofo Rival
Bike-sharing business is highly capital-intensive, part of why is that Chinese consumers are used to subsidies, coupons, and free trials. All companies in the sector are now pouring money to nab market shares from counterparts.
As the escalating war between Ofo and Mobike are hurting both, the two were said to eye a merger to cut costs and make profits. However, the deal eventually went sour.
Additionally, another tech juggernaut, Didi, is also looking to break into the market. It just launched its bike-sharing service Qing Ju in Chengdu, in addition to its previous acquisition of bankrupted Bluegogo and investments in Ofo.