Ride-hailing platform Shouqi Yueche has raised ‘hundreds of millions of US dollars’ in its Series C funding round from a clutch of investors, per local media reports.
The names of the investors have not been disclosed.
The company last raised as much as 700 million yuan ($105 million) in its Series B+ funding round in November 2017 from Baidu Group’s investment arms Baidu Ventures and Baidu Investment, NIO Capital, and Silk Road Financial Holding’s Silk Road Hua Chuang Investment Management (Beijing).
Shouqi Yueche, launched by parent company Shou Qi Group in 2015, is one of China’s leading ride-hailing services providers – it targets medium to high-end markets in the country. It also delivers vehicle options such as bus, economic carrier and deluxe car. Apart from its domestic presence, the company has a significant international presence with operations spanning across 130 countries.
As of September 2020, it claims to have registered users over 113 million, an increase of 31.3 per cent from the previous year.
The promoter shareholder Shou Qi Group is the controlling shareholder in Shouqi Yueche having 35.23 per cent stake, while China Jianyin Investment’s JIC TECH-INV is the second-largest shareholder with 11.38 per cent stake. Baidu (5.45%) and Harvest Investments (5.34%) are among the majority shareholders.
JIC TECH-INV had infused 220 million yuan ($33 million) in Shouqi Yueche’s Series A round in 2015. Subsequently in 2016, Harvest Investments also invested in its Series A+ round.
China’s top ride-hailing players include Didi Chuxing, Meituan Dache, UCAR, Caocao, Amap Dache, and Shouqi Yueche.