Carpool app Tiantian Yongche estimates its market value has reached US$200 million after raising additional funding from Baidu and Sequoia Capital in its Series C financing. Tiantian currently operates in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Tianjin and Chengdu.
Baidu has recently turned its attention to the ride sharing sector, investing also in a Series C financing of carpool app 51 Yongche on April 10, along with Sequoia Capital and other investors, according to 51 Yongche.
Tiantian Yongche and 51 Yongche both operate on an individual single-trip ride share model and mainly target urban professional commuters, with each user limited to two trips per day. Tiantian Yongche has been online since September last year and 51 Yongche entered the segment not long after. Didi Taxi also added a ride share function that went online in April this year, adding to the Taxi app’s existing operations in taxi hailing, car rental and chauffeur services.
Tiantian Yongche held its Series A financing on September 5 last year, followed by its Series B financing on December 12. Innovation Works, Baidu and Sequoia Capital have been investing in both Tiantian Yongche and 51 Yongche. With capital pouring in from these heavyweight investors, a showdown between the two startups in the carpool sector is imminent. (Translation by David)
