Qianhai Mobile, a wifi services affiliate of China-based outdoor advertising company VisionChina, has raised $11.5m in a series A round led by search engine provider Baidu.
The round also featured private equity investors Guangdong Zhongke Baiyun New Industry Venture Investment and Dongguan Zhongke Zhongguang Venture Investment.
Qianhai provides free wifi services for buses, and has secured exclusive concession rights for about 35,000 buses across 18 Chinese cities. The funding will enable it to build its network further.
The company is set to join forces with Baidu in conjunction with the investment, in order to create and monetise services centred on the Baidu Map service that passengers can access on their phones.
The round was revealed alongside Baidu’s participation in a $16.1m series A round raised by public transportation wifi provider 16Wifi, and shortly after another China-based public transport-focused company, Chelaile, completed a $15m series B round.
Publicly listed VisionChina Media operates an advertising network that spans Chinese mass transit systems in 19 cities including Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.