Tink Labs, a China-based mobile device rental service backed by manufacturing services provider Foxconn, has entered talks to raise $40m in a round that could value it at more than $1bn, China Money Network reported on Sunday.
Founded in 2012, Tink offers smartphone rental packages to tourists that include unlimited calls, internet access, local guides and promotions specific to the hotels through which they are provided.
The devices are currently distributed across a network of hotels in 20 Chinese cities that cover some 100,000 rooms. Tink aims to provide a total of 1 million of its devices through its network by 2018.
Foxconn led the company’s last round, in which it raised $125m in September 2016, through its FIH Mobile subsidiary. The round, which also featured investment firm Sinovation Ventures and angel investor Cai Wensheng, valued Tink at more than $500m.
The last round boosted Tink’s total funding to $170m, $13m of which came from an earlier FIH Mobile investment in late 2015, the year after smartphone maker TCL Communication Technology supplied an undisclosed amount.