Bike-sharing startup ofo raises $450m in D-round financing

Ofo bikes are lined up outside a subway entrance in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province, Jan 19, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

China's bike-sharing startup ofo announced on Wednesday that it has completed D-round financing of 3.1 billion yuan ($450 million), led by global investment institution Digital Sky Technology, or DST.

Other investors include ride-hailing service provider Didi Chuxing, private equity fund CITIC Private Equity Funds Management Co Ltd and investment institution Matrix Partners China.

The financing, the largest of a single deal in the bike-sharing industry, has made ofo the most valued unicorn company among its peers.

Founder and CEO of ofo Dai Wei said: "Ofo is devoted to becoming a global influential company. We thank the choice and trust from global top-notch investors."

"We will continue to lead the rapid and sound growth of the industry, and provide convenient short-distance travelling services for global users," he added.

Ofo said in a press release that data from a third-party research institution show the company has taken up 51.2 percent of shares in the bike-sharing market, but did not identify the agency. It registered 218 percent of growth rate in three months, the fastest growth in the industry. The ofo app has recently topped the list of Apple Inc's App Store free apps in all categories as well as those in the tourism category.

From June 2015, ofo has connected more than 1 million bicycles, with more than 20 million registered users. It has provided more than 300 million times of travelling services for users in nearly 40 cities in China, the United States, Britain and Singapore.

DST backed the fund-raising of global internet companies such as Facebook and Airbnb. It also financed many Chinese companies including Alibaba Group, JD.com and Xiaomi Corp.

DST founder Yuri Milner said DST chose the investees that will obviously become a leader of its sector, can be listed right away in theory and can sustain development in the long run.