Didi Chuxing and DST Global also participated in the latest funding round for ofo

Chinese bike-sharing company ofo today announced that it has raised over US$700 million in Series E funding round led by Alibaba Group, Hony Capital, and CITIC Private Equity.

Existing investors Didi Chuxing and DST Global also participated in this round.

The funding round is believed to be the largest in the bike-sharing industry to date; previously, ofo has raised several investments that includes a US$130 million Series C led by Didi, a US$450 million Series D led by DST Global, and an undisclosed Series D led by Ant Financial.

ofo’s fundraising attempt was first reported by Bloomberg in mid-June. By the time is was reported to seek US$500 million at a US$3 billion valuation.

In a press statement, ofo Founder and CEO Dai Wei said that the company aims to “further upgrade our service for better user experiences, accelerate our global expansion strategy, and continue to lead the bike-sharing industry.”

“Our vision is to unlock every corner of the world, and make ofo the universal language,” he said.

Also Read: Ofo seeks US$145K in damages for defamation against social network Maimai

ofo said that it currently has 6.5 million bikes in 150 cities across five countries and generate 25 million transactions daily.

By end of 2017, it plans to deploy 20 million bikes and grow its presence to 200 cities in 20 countries “across the globe.”

Through the use of a global NB-IoT (Narrow Band Internet-of-Things) technology, ofo also aims to turn its bikes to a central hubs connecting riders to net-based resources via the Internet of Things and creating an AI-based eco closed loop.

Its competitor Mobike has also recently raised a US$600 million Series E round led by Tencent.

It has also begun its global expansion outside of Asia with a launch in Manchester and Salford, UK.

The post ofo catches up Mobike with a US$700M+ Series E round led by Alibaba, Hony Capital, CITIC PE appeared first on e27.