Ride haling platform Didi Chuxing invested an eight-figure dollar sum in China-based bicycle sharing service Ofo on Monday as part of a strategic partnership agreement.
Founded in 2014 as a Peking University student startup project, Ofo operates an online platform that optimises the sharing of bicycles. Customers pay for the service through the app, then scan a code on their smartphones to unlock the company’s distinctive yellow bikes.
Ofo has about 1.5 million users spread across 20 cities, and is responsible for around 500,000 rides each day. It has not disclosed details of earlier funding.
The companies will investigate partnership opportunities for urban ride sharing, and Ofo’s service could be offered as an option on Didi Chuxing’s platform, which already supplies taxi, carpooling, corporate lifts and bus travel services to almost 400 million users.
– Photo courtesy of Ofo