Sequoia leads Series B round for China P2P car-sharing app

This follows a $3 million Series A round from Innovation Works last June.

Tiantian Yongche was founded by Guanglong Zhai, who previously worked group-buying website Meituan and was CEO of accommodation online portal Mayi. Operated by Beijing Tian Heyi Tech Company, Tiantian Yongche enables private car owners to connect with prospective passengers.

Users enter their itinerary into Tiantian Yongche's mobile app and get a price quotation based on their route and requested car type. Private car owners who match these requirements receive an alert and can decide whether or not to accept the passenger. A pre-payment is then made and pick-up details are negotiated. 

Zhai told local media that Tiantian Yongche's services now cover Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, with about 5,000 orders processed every day.

Last month, China's Ministry of Transport issued a ban on private cars participating in ride-hailing apps, citing safety concerns. Only licensed taxies are able to use this technology to connect with users. Zhai said the regulation focuses on professional car drivers whereas Tiantian Yongche - unlike ride-hailing platforms Didi Dache, Kuaidi Dache and Uber - is strictly P2P.

Mobile apps based on car-pooling have attracted considerable VC interest in China. Haha Pinche received a $10 million Series A round led by Sequoia in August, with Innovation Works also participating. Dida Pinche then raised $10 million from IDG Capital Partners in November.

In December, Ping An Ventures, a VC arm of insurer Ping An Group, and Qiming Venture Partners co-led a $30 million Series A round of funding for Baojia.com, while Lightspeed China Partners led a $10 million Series A round for uuzuche.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Venture
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• China
• TMT
• Transportation
• Sequoia Capital
• Innovation Works
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