US-based bike-sharing startup LimeBike raised $12m in a series A round on Wednesday that included IDG Ventures, the US investment arm of media company International Data Group.
The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, while DCM Ventures, Seven Seas, Immersion Ventures and Danhua Capital also contributed along with angel investors Jason Zeng and Free Wu, co-founders of internet group Tencent.
Founded in 2017, LimeBike is building a bicycle sharing network based on its own propietary technology.
The company has developed a connected bicycle and an app that can track the bikes’ location and availability through mobile networks, and which can unlock them and collect payment from customers. The approach means users do not have to return the bike to a specific docking station.
LimeBike is still in discussions with a number of cities across the US to establish its first markets. The series A money will support those efforts, the manufacturing of bicycles and the further development of its app.
Jeff Jordan, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, will join LimeBike’s board of directors. Toby Sun, co-founder and CEO of LimeBike, said: “We will aim to take a very collaborative approach with cities and college campuses.
“We think it is important to work together, identify the right bike program strategy for each region, and jointly add bike transportation as a widely used, and widely available option for getting around.”