Aston Martin Suspends EV Partnership With Struggling Chinese Tech Firm LeEco

Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd, a British luxury sports car manufacturer, has suspended a previously announced partnership with struggling Chinese tech company LeEco to jointly develop electric vehicles for the global markets. It is unclear why Aston Martin decided to suspend the partnership, but it is most likely directly related to LeEco’s financial troubles as LeEco… Continue reading Aston Martin Suspends EV Partnership With Struggling Chinese Tech Firm LeEco

Didi Ponders SoftBank-Led $6B Investment As China’s Ride Share Giant Suffers Volume Declines

China’s Uber equivalent Didi Chuxing is considering whether to take a US$6 billion investment backed by SoftBank Group Corp. – which could be the largest private fundraising for an Internet company anywhere, anytime – as the Chinese ride sharing giant suffers volume declines after regulations were rolled out across the country. SoftBank might be investing… Continue reading Didi Ponders SoftBank-Led $6B Investment As China’s Ride Share Giant Suffers Volume Declines

China’s Didi Launches AI Lab In Silicon Valley, Aims To Lead On Intelligent Driving Tech

The global talent war for top artificial intelligence (AI) talent just intensified, as Chinese ride share giant Didi Chuxing officially launched an AI lab in California to attract top engineering talents to advance transformation in the global transportation industry. The newly established Didi Labs, located in Mountain View, will primarily focus on AI-based security and… Continue reading China’s Didi Launches AI Lab In Silicon Valley, Aims To Lead On Intelligent Driving Tech

Stop Creating Bike Sharing Companies, China!

The following news release left me bewildered. Why can’t businesses in China stop ruining a creative idea? Why must they copy to death and spoil something so innovative?! Yet another bicycle sharing company has been born to launch dockless bikes in Zhuhai and Beijing. The company, named getb, claims to be the “world’s first versatile,… Continue reading Stop Creating Bike Sharing Companies, China!

Temasek Invests In Mobile To Bring 2017 Total Funding To $300M For Bike Share Firm

Chinese bike sharing company Mobike has received new strategic investment from Singapore’s state investment firm Temasek Holdings and existing investor Chinese investment firm Hillhouse Capital to raise a total of over US$300 million since the start of 2017, a tremendous feat for a start-up with actual operation time of less than one year. In January,… Continue reading Temasek Invests In Mobile To Bring 2017 Total Funding To $300M For Bike Share Firm

China’s Didi Sued For Talent Poaching By Alibaba-Owned AutoNavi

Chinese mapping company AutoNavi Holdings Ltd., owned by Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd., has sued Didi Chuxing for unfair competition, alleging the ride-sharing company poached eight veteran engineers from its team and asking for RMB75 million (US$10.9 million) in damages, according to court documents. AutoNavi said that one senior manager and six engineers with knowledge of… Continue reading China’s Didi Sued For Talent Poaching By Alibaba-Owned AutoNavi

Mobike Hires Tesla’s Former General Manager As CMO

China’s bike sharing company Mobike has hired Kingston Chang, former Tesla Motors Inc.’s general manager in China as chief marketing officer, according to Chinese media. Chang will be responsible for the marketing of Mobike and report directly to Mobike’s founder Hu Weiwei. Prior to Mobike, Chang was the first general manager in China at Tesla… Continue reading Mobike Hires Tesla’s Former General Manager As CMO

Foxconn Invests In Mobike As Part Of Strategic Partnership On Global Expansion

Foxconn Technology Group has invested an undisclosed amount in a strategic investment in China’s bike sharing company Mobike as part of a wider partnership, the companies announced today. The exclusive strategic partnership will enable Mobike to increase global production capacity of its smart bikes to over 10 million units annually, and reduce the cost of… Continue reading Foxconn Invests In Mobike As Part Of Strategic Partnership On Global Expansion

Tencent, Warburg Lead $215M Series D Round In China’s Mobike

Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Warburg Pincus have led a US$215 million series D funding round in Mobike, a Chinese smart bike-sharing company. New strategic investors including China’s largest travel company Ctrip, TPG, and Chinese hotel operator Huazhu Hotels Group, as well as existing investors Sequoia Capital China and Hillhouse Capital also participated.… Continue reading Tencent, Warburg Lead $215M Series D Round In China’s Mobike

Ofo Appoints Ex-Didi Senior Vice President Fu Qiang As Deputy CEO

Chinese bike sharing firm ofo has appointed Fu Qiang (pictured), former senior vice president at Chinese ride sharing company and ofo’s largest shareholder Didi Chuxing, as its deputy chief executive officer. At the same time, head of Didi’s open platform Nan Shan and director of finance Leslie Liu have joined ofo’s marketing and finance department,… Continue reading Ofo Appoints Ex-Didi Senior Vice President Fu Qiang As Deputy CEO