Chinese public transport WiFi provider 16WiFi said on Thursday that it had landed RMB 300 million (USD 45 million) in Series B financing.
According to a report by the business information platform 36Kr on Thursday, this round of financing will be mainly used in technology development, market promotion and acquisitions.
16WiFi was reported to have landed RMB 100 million in Series A financing in June 2015, led by Chinese internet giant Baidu. However, the founder and chariman of 16WiFi Qiu Chaomin said that they never received any funds from Baidu. It was not until November 2015 that 16WiFi finished its RMB 138 million Series A financing from other investors.
16WiFi provides free WiFi in public transport carriers, including buses and subways. With the 16WiFi app, passengers can have a free Wi-Fi connection.
The southwest Chinese city of Kunming is the first to support 16WiFi. 16WiFi was applied to 2,000 buses in Kunming in May 2016. Up to June 16, the daily active users per bus have reached 115.
According to Qiu, 16WiFi has signed with 200 thousand buses of 70 other cities in China. 16WiFi will first go online in nine of them, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
(Top photo from startribune.com)
