Mobike lands $600 million in latest round of fundraising

Mobike, the initiator of the smart shared-bike industry, announced the completion of a new round of funding of more than $600 million on June 16. It is the greatest single round of funding for any shared bike company to date. 

Tencent led the round, supported by heavyweights such as ICBC International, Bocom International and Farallon Capital. Existing shareholders including TPG, Sequoia Capital China and Hill House Capital also increased their holdings.

Mobike Technology has become the biggest platform for smart shared bikes in the world, with over 100 million users and 5 million bikes available. Its recent expansion to the British cities of Manchester and Salford demonstrates the company's global ambition. Mobike has swept into more than 100 cities since its orange bikes were first distributed through the streets of Shanghai in April 2016.

“The funding raised will help finance Mobike’s global campaign. We aim to further expand our network to 200 cities,” said Wang Xiaofeng, CEO and co-founder of Mobike. “Mobike will partner with top players in the Internet of Things and step up technological innovation in artificial intelligence and smart hardware.”

It’s the third time that Tencent has led an investment round. Ma Huateng, CEO of Tencent, said: “We will continue to share our core resources like WeChat with Mobike, fueling its innovation, growth and expansion.”

Ofo, Mobike's biggest rival, is also making great strides in development. It has secured a partnership with the Chinese Pavilion at Astana Expo 2017, ensuring that Ofo is the sole shared bike provider at the site. Since Ofo started its overseas expansion, the company's yellow bikes can be found in cities including Silicon Valley, London and Singapore. Ofo plans to enter 20 countries in the next year.

With the new round of funding for Mobike, competition between shared bikes companies is sure to become even fiercer.