Power bank sharing startup Chongchong received USD 75 M for Series A
Chongchong
Founder: Qin Yi
Founded in: 2016
Financing status: RMB 500 million (USD 75 million) for Series A financing in 2017
Power bank sharing startup, Chongchong, received USD 75 M for Series A on August 20 to manufacture and build more power banks in cities to conquer the market.
Power bank sharing received much attention from enterprises and venture capital firms. China’s tech giant Tencent and Alibaba, as well as Xiaomi and many other companies joined in the competition to launch their own business or pour capital into this industry. At this time, it is hard for companies to get access to new users to expand their service range, due to the high cost of acquiring new users and the difficulty of maintaining them. Following the sharing economy trend with power bank sharing services is a good way to expand to a larger market rapidly. As the power bank sharing service becomes standardized, it becomes easier to copy. Today, a new player in the power bank sharing industry, Chongchong, secured the largest single financing round.
Chongchong is a power bank sharing startup that provides users with power bank rental services in China. Currently, it has two types of products. The first is a power bank rental machine that can be placed in city centers, airports. and railway stations, and which contains 16 power banks for rental in each of its machines. It also developed a smaller power bank rental machine that can be placed on tables, equipped with a small electronic display screen for advertisements and other information. The smaller power bank rental machines are popular in canteens and cafeterias.
Users can rent power banks through Chongchong’s app before they take power banks away. Chongchong requires either a RMB 99 deposit, connection to the user’s Alipay credit system, or the user’s identifying information. It charges RMB 2 for one day, and users are required to return in 48 hours. If users rent their power banks for more than 48 hours they have to pay for it.
Founded in 2016 in Beijing, Chongchong’s founding team is mainly from Xiaomi, Meituan, and Huawei. Its services have covered Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.
This new financing round was from a group of investors, including Will Hunting Capital, Longfan Media, and Focus Media. The capital will be used to manufacture more power bank rental machines, and place them in more cities. Chongchong aims to place more power bank rental machines in more than 25 cities in China, as well as expand its business to regions overseas, such as Southeast Asia, North America, and Europe.
Online truck logistics platform Huochebang received USD 56 M for Series B-3 round
Huochebang
Founder: Dai Wenjian
Founded in: 2011
Financing status: RMB 373 million (USD 56 million) in Series B-3 financing in 2017
Huochebang is an online truck logistics platform that provides an Uber-type service for trucks in China. It helps truck drivers find commodities for transport to minimize the amount of time that cargo-haulers stand empty. It also provides them with vacant parking lot services. It integrates truck sales and used truck auctions, as well as other services related to the trucking industry in China. Unlike Uber, Huochebang makes money primarily from selling toll cards, taking a cut from the card top-ups, and helping truckers with financing.
Based in the southwestern province of Guizhou, Huochebang wants to match the trucks with commodities in need of transport, vacant parking lots, and service centers it operates. By now, there are more than 45 million trucks registered on its platform. It has so far established 1000 direct service outlets in 360 cities across China, with 2500 employees.
Previously, it raised a USD 156 million series B-2 round from Baidu and All-Stars. Last December, it also received a USD 115 million series B-1 round from International Finance Corp, All-Stars, Tencent Holdings Ltd., DCM, and Genesis Capital. With this Series B-3 financing round, it has secured a total of USD 327 million in its Series B financing round. Huochebang plans to use the funds to invest in market expansion plans to help more truck drivers and commodity owners finish their transport.
(Top photo from 58pic.com)
