China-based bicycle rental service Hellobike has raised RMB2.06bn ($321m) from Ant Financial, the China-based financial services affiliate of e-commerce group Alibaba, China Money Network reported today.
The transaction has bestowed unicorn status on Hellobike, which is now valued at $1.47bn. Ant Financial has become the largest shareholder in the business, owning a 36% stake.
Hellobike operates an app-based bicycle sharing service that boasted 100 million registered users as of April this year, according to Kr Asia. It is currently available in 180 Chinese cities.
The company previously raised approximately $700m in series E1 funding in April 2018 from investors including Ant Financial and diversified conglomerate Fosun, as well as seven unnamed investors.
The April funding was touted as the first tranche of a larger round, though Hellobike has not confirmed the two investments are related.
Hellobike closed a $503m series D round in December 2017 that also featured Ant Financial and Fosun subsidiary Fosun Capital as well as electric vehicle maker WM Motor and venture capital firms GGV Capital and Chengwei Capital.
WM Motor had provided a nine-figure renminbi sum for the company in July 2017, three months before Youon Ditan, an affiliate of bicycle rental network Changzhou Youon Public Bicycle System, also backed by Ant Financial, merged with Hellobike.
Ant Financial itself is in the process of closing a $10bn funding round that will make it the most valuable private startup company of all time, with a $150bn valuation.