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