Not intimidated by Didi Kuaidi, Chinese carpooling app secures $8.3M funding

Earlier this week, China’s biggest taxi-hailing app Didi Kuaidi announced the rollout of its new not-for-profit carpooling feature, Shun Feng Che. Logic would tell you that this signals the end for competing carpooling apps, which have only a fraction of the user base and funding war chest.

But for Bao Pinche, Didi Kuaidi’s move means its time to double down. The startup just raised a US$8.3 million series A round of financing from unknown investors, according to Chinese startup news site Iyiou. (UPDATE: Lead Edge Capital’s Avery Rosin denies that the VC was involved in this round, as was reported by Chinese media. As a result, the firm has been removed from the story.)

Despite competing with the merged entity composed of two of China’s most-funded startups, Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache, Bao Pinche might not be dead in the water just yet. Didi Kuadi’s Shun Feng Che feature mainly focuses on intercity travel. Bao Pinche, like BlaBlaCar, targets drivers and passengers on long-distance trips, such as long commutes and holiday travel.

Other competing carpooling apps in China include Uber’s not-for-profit tier, People’s Uber, and startup Haha Pinche, which raised a US$10 million series A round in August last year.

Bao Pinche told Iyiou it has over 1.4 million users, 200,000 of whom are car owners. The startup raised a US$2 million angel round in October 2014.

The fresh cash will go toward creating native iOS and Android mobile apps, hiring staff, and expanding to more cities.

(Source: Iyiou)