Chinese bike-sharing startup Ofo secured $866 million in a single round of funding led by Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Reuters reported March 13, citing a statement from Ofo.
Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial Services Group and Chinese venture capital firms Haofeng Group, Tianhe Capital and Junli Capital also participated in the fundraising, according to the report. Ofo did not disclose an updated valuation of the company but co-founder and CEO Dai Wei reportedly said the bike-sharing firm was worth more than $2 billion before a $700 million funding round in July 2017.
Reuters added that Ofo and its rival, Tencent Holdings Ltd.-backed Mobike, have been launching new services in China and expanding overseas. In October 2017, Ofo and Mobike were reported to be in talks over a merger to form a company worth around $4 billion.
Ofo's past investors include ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing, investment group DST Global, CITIC's private equity arm, smartphone maker Xiaomi Inc. and Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp.
