China bike-sharing start-up Bluegogo raises $58m
Chinese bike-sharing start-up Bluegogo has raised a RMB400 million ($58 million) funding round led by domestic GP Black Hole Capital.
Zhineng Xingtong, a Shenzhen-based medical device developer, also participated in the round. The investment values Bluegogo at RMB1 billion, Gang Li, the company’s CEO, told a local press conference.
Bluegogo was launched in November by SpeedX, a smart road bike manufacturer. Similar to other bike rental services start-ups such as Mobike and Ofo, it allows users to book nearby bicycles through a mobile app. A bike is unlocked by scanning its QR code and the charge is RMB50 cents per 30 minutes.
Bluegogo’s services are now cover five Chinese cities including Shenzhen, Guangdong, Chengdu, Nanjing and Foshan, with more than 150,000 bikes in operation. The company claims it has more than 2.5 million registered users.
Established in 2014, SpeedX produces smart racing bikes under the Unicorn and Leopard brands. These are manufactured in the company's own factory as well as through partnerships with eight Chinese bicycle makers. It previously raised seed funding from ZhenFund and Sinovation Ventures. Last year, it raised a RMB150 million Series B round.
Bicycle-sharing start-ups are the latest investor craze in China's technology-enabled transportation space. Mobike has raised more than $300 million in 2017, including a strategic investment from Temasek Holdings last week. Its rival Ofo closed a $130 million Series C round in late 2016 across two tranches, having received backing from local ride-hailing app operator Didi Chuxing, smart phone maker Xiaomi and Shunwei Capital Partners.
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