Bike-sharing startup Hellobike receives USD 152M in Series-D2 funding
Hellobike
Founder: Yang Lei
Founded in: 2016
Financing status: RMB 1 billion (USD 152 million) for Series D2 financing in 2017
Bike-sharing startup Hellobike received USD 152 million for Series D2 funding on December 27. The newly raised capital will be allocated toward diversifying its transportation solutions.
Since the second half of 2017, Hellobike has continued to attract investor and user favor due to its excellent user riding experience and operational efficiency. The recent financing of USD 152 million is the second funding round completed since Hellobike merged with rival Youon. The first round finished early this month and was backed by Alibaba’s financial subsidiary, Ant Financial.
Bike-sharing is a representative case of the sharing economy, as it bridges the gap between transportation demands and limited resources. As we have reported, other bike-sharing startups such as ofo and Mobike also secured huge funding earlier in the year to expand business in China and abroad.
Hellobike was founded in 2016 in Shanghai, and its bike-sharing services have thus far covered more than 150 Chinese cities, such as Hangzhou, Suzhou, Xiamen, and so on. Unlike ofo and Mobike who compete for market share in China’s first-tier cities, Hellobike mainly focuses its efforts in select second-tier and third-tier cities and claims to have achieved the leading position among bike sharing platforms in these areas. According to Hellobike, its user base reached 88 million by December 22 of 2017 and these users have contributed 10 million orders to Hellobike’s platform. Additionally, its services also cover 140 scenic areas.
In June of this year, Hellobike established a three-dimensional transportation solution based on data collected from users’ riding. The platform’s “3510” strategy aims to meet diversified transportation demands in travel with three, five, ten, or more than ten kilometers. In order to solve users’ short, medium, and long-distance travel demands.
This Series D2 financing round was led by Fosun, a Chinese conglomerate and investment company, founded in 1992 by Guo Guangchang. Existing investor GGV also participated. Previously, Hellobike has secured financing fundings from Ant Financial, Chengwei Capital, FujiTec, Weltmeister, and so on.
According to Fosun, it pays close attention to products and services that are used by households with transportation needs. Fosun will cooperate with Hellobike in the future to research transportation cases, including high speed trains, electric bicycles, driverless cars, and other fields in order to cover families’ diverse transportation demands. Meanwhile, Fosun will also introduce Hellobike’s bike-sharing services to the scenic resorts it has also invested in.
With its investment in Hellobike, Fosun will not only support the startup’s expansion with much-needed capital, but will also help Hellobike in finances, wealth management, and global expansion. Hellobike will continue to seek opportunities from smaller cities, depending on its operation capabilities. Hellobike’s electric control and standardized operation match government regulations. While an obvious obstacle is the requisite cash flow for the massive production of bikes. Fosun is working towards a deal with Hellobike, one that likely will include financing and leasing.
Hellobike said that this round’s newly raised capital will be used to promote its transportation solutions, as well as provide users with a more intelligent transportation experience.
(Top photo from Hellobike)
