ofo, the world first and largest station-free bike-sharing platform, has announced a new $866 million round of funding led by Alibaba Group, with participation from Haofeng Group, Tianhe Capital, Ant Financial and Junli Capital. The strategic financing presents the highest funding record in the bike-sharing industry and marks a new era for operational efficiency of the bike-sharing system.
As a precedent of asset mobilisation in the bike-sharing industry, ofo uses a combination of debt and equity financing for this round. ofo will drive long-term success independently with the continuing support of leading investors.
Dai Wei, founder and CEO of ofo said: “As the global leader in the bike-sharing sector, ofo has been transitioning from a phase of rapid growth to a stage of high-quality development. ofo will continue to put our customers first and lead the bike-sharing industry with technological innovation and efficient operations.”
According to a recent industry report, ofo has already achieved dominant market place globally. The service improves the urban transport environment by reducing traffic congestion, saving energy and promoting better living. It is expected that the global number of shared bike users will increase to 1 billion in the next two years.
To date, ofo has operations in over 250 cities across 21 countries alongside widespread usage by over 200 million global users with more than 6 billion efficient, convenient and green rides, totalling 32 million rides per day.
Founded in 2014, ofo is the world’s first and largest station-free bike-sharing platform operated via an online mobile application. ofo is created for sharing and aims to unlock every corner of the world by making bikes accessible to everyone. To date, ofo has connected travellers in over 250 cities across 21
countries with more than 10 million bikes, generating more than 32 million daily transactions. In total, its platform has provided over 200 million global users with 6 billion efficient, convenient and eco-friendly rides.
The logo ofo resembles a person riding a bicycle towards the west, where the two “o” represents the front and rear end of the bicycle wheel and the “f” is the user.
