2018 has been a rough year for China’s bike-sharing giants. Alibaba-backed Ofo pulled out of dozens of international cities as it fought with a severe cash crunch. Tencent-backed Mobike puts a brake on expansion after it was sold to neighborhood services provider Meituan Dianping. But one newcomer is pedaling against the wind. Hellobike, currently the country’s […]
View More Alibaba-backed Hellobike bags new funds as it marches into ride-hailingCategory: Didi Chuxing
The 10 largest US venture rounds of 2018
A look at the U.S. companies that brought in the largest VC fundings of the year.
View More The 10 largest US venture rounds of 2018With today’s IPO sinking, a year of highs and lows for SoftBank
If there was a word that dominated startup and tech news coverage this year, it was SoftBank. The Japanese telecom conglomerate’s Vision Fund pushed out a prodigious amount of capital this year — quite literally billions of dollars — into companies as diverse as a molecular manufacturer (Zymergen) and a robotic pizza delivery business (Zume Pizza). […]
View More With today’s IPO sinking, a year of highs and lows for SoftBankCareem launches delivery service as it nears closing a massive round
The ride-hailing giant Careem is now in the delivery business as the company seeks new verticals in its ever-increasing fight against other services in the Middle East including Uber. Starting with food delivery in Dhabi and Jeddah, the company sees the delivery service expanding to pharmaceuticals according to a report by Reuters. Careem is investing […]
View More Careem launches delivery service as it nears closing a massive roundBMW’s premium ride-hailing service is now live in China
BMW has joined a handful of automakers to compete with transportation upstart Didi Chuxing, which bought Uber’s Chinese business in 2016. Last Friday, the German luxury carmaker launched a premium ride-hailing service in Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan Province with over 14 million people. The new offer is part of BMW’s ReachNow carsharing brand that kicked […]
View More BMW’s premium ride-hailing service is now live in ChinaChina’s Didi restructures key units to improve safety following passenger deaths
China’s largest ride-hailing operator Didi Chuxing announced on Wednesday a major restructuring, which trails a series of tweaks to its core businesses following two separate passenger murders that happened in May and September. The reshuffle will see Didi — which owns Uber’s China business — knit three key platforms into a new overarching Ride-hailing Business Group […]
View More China’s Didi restructures key units to improve safety following passenger deathsEurope’s ride-hailing companies aren’t scared of Uber
Uber is speeding toward a historic IPO next year that could value it as high as $120 billion, but that doesn’t scare its rivals that operate across Europe. Speaking on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin, Markus Villig — the CEO of $1 billion-valued Taxify — and Via CEO Daniel Ramot, whose company has expanded from Israel into […]
View More Europe’s ride-hailing companies aren’t scared of UberChina’s Didi adds driver training program to counter sharp decline in rides
Didi Chuxing, China’s largest ride-hailing company by number of users, has been struggling to recover from a major setback following the deaths of two passengers earlier this year. On Wednesday, its founder and CEO Cheng Wei released a letter detailing the company’s moves to step up safety oversight and meet new government rules, including a training […]
View More China’s Didi adds driver training program to counter sharp decline in ridesAlibaba-backed parenting site Babytree starts taking orders for downsized IPO
A lot of Chinese millennials may be delaying or opting out of childbearing, but those who have committed to parenting often go all out to ensure their children grow up healthy and do well in school. One company capitalizing on China’s booming mother and infant industry – which is expected to double in market valuation […]
View More Alibaba-backed parenting site Babytree starts taking orders for downsized IPOMeituan, China’s ‘everything app’, walks away from bike sharing and ride hailing
A major player in the race to transport Chinese people around is losing steam. Meituan Dianping, the Tencent-backed all-encompassing platform for local services, continues to put the brakes on bike-sharing and ride-hailing, the company said on its earnings call on Thursday. The eight-year-old firm is best known for competing with Alibaba-owned Ele.me in food deliveries […]
View More Meituan, China’s ‘everything app’, walks away from bike sharing and ride hailingGrab lands $50M from Thailand’s Kasikorn Bank to further its fintech push
Southeast Asia ride-hailing firm Grab is continuing to add strategic investors to its ongoing Series H round — which is targeted at over $3 billion — after it revealed Thai bank Kasikorn put in $50 million as part of a strategic partnership to advance its financial services strategy. Kasikorn joins Hyundai ($250 million), Microsoft (undisclosed) […]
View More Grab lands $50M from Thailand’s Kasikorn Bank to further its fintech pushChina’s Didi Chuxing is poised to expand into hotel bookings
China’s largest ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing is entering the hotel-booking business as it strives to recover from two highly publicized murders of female passengers by drivers on its platform. That’s according to Chinese business magazine Caijing and tech news site 36kr (links in Chinese). R-Lab, the unit in charge of Didi’s new venture, is aptly […]
View More China’s Didi Chuxing is poised to expand into hotel bookings