Baidu, NIO lead $105m round in Chinese car-hailing startup Shouqi

Traffic travels along the Second Ring Road in Beijing, China, on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

By Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul

November 21, 2017

Shouqi Limousine & Chauffeur, a Chinese car hailing startup, has raised RMB700 million ($105 million) in the latest financing round led by online search engine Baidu and Chinese electric vehicle maker NIO, according to its announcement on Monday in Beijing.

This investment brings its total Series B funding to RMB1.3 billion ($193 million), including an RMB600 million ($88 million) as part of the same round led by China Minsheng Trust in July. This round takes Shouqi into the unicorn club – defined as a startup with a valuation of more than $1 billion.

The proceeds from this round will be used to develop a new transport ecosystem that integrates “the capital, smart cars, artificial intelligence and a quality platform” which will lead the future trend.

After it announced the completion of series B, Shouqi Limousine & Chauffeur CEO Dong Wei said, the two-year-old startup had already initiated the process of its series C round.

In October, Baidu and Shouqi Limousine & Chauffeur signed a strategic partnership, committing to take autonomous driving into the road next year.

Shouqi currently owns over 60,000 cars in 53 cities and districts in China. It has over 20 million users with over 2.4 million active users.

Meanwhile, Didi Chuxing, the world’s second largest startup with valuation of $50 billion, dominates around 70 per cent of China’s premium car hailing business. It also pays attention to develop autonomous driving technology via its lab, set up in Silicon Valley in March.

Also read:

China’s Baidu teams up with state-owned Shouqi on driverless cars

Dear Uber, that record funding means battle-hardened Didi is coming for you

Singapore Reporter/s

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Singapore Reporter/s

In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
APPLY NOW