Fast to the international, burning money to continue the war

Despite the controversy, a flood of hot money has poured into mobile internet travel platforms.

January 15, a quick taxi official confirmed that the company completed a 600 million-dollar D-round financing, by SoftBank Group, Alibaba and Tiger Fund also participated in the investment. However, the proportion of the 3 companies ' specific investment has not been announced.

Quick Taxi. Chairman and CEO Lu Zhunwei said a new round of financing would help companies continue to invest more in technology and product innovation, while stabilizing and expanding existing market positions. Li Min, vice president of the company, told the Daily economic news reporter that this round of financing will be used mainly for the development of car business, and to create a more comprehensive travel platform.

Just over the past one months, its rivals drop taxis and Uber have all carried out large-scale financing. The drop-by-taxi financing of more than 700 million dollars, including Tencent, Singapore Investment Corporation Temasek and Russian investment company Dstglobal. Uber and another giant Baidu reached a strategic partnership.

A VC who has been involved in fast financing believes that fast and dripping will continue to struggle with subsidies in a competitive way alone. The difference is that consumers will develop the habit of using cars or car rentals from subsidies, which will become the ultimate core profit point for taxi software.

Fast to the International

The reporter learned that up to the present fast taxi services have covered the domestic including Hong Kong 358 cities. Its new car service, which was launched in the second half of 2014, now covers 56 cities.

Third-party research institutions data show that quick taxi in the domestic taxi software market has accounted for 54.4% of the share, ranked first in the industry. At the same time, quick Taxi is also the only in Hong Hong in Hong in Hong, with a number of international giants competing domestic taxi software.

Li said that the fast taxi in Hong Kong market also occupy the industry first, the market share of more than 30%, the company plans to accelerate the pace of internationalization.

Quick Taxi in May 2012 founded, December 2012, Quick Taxi received Ali, amoeba Fund Angel Round investment; in April 2013, Alibaba, Jingwei create a total of 10 million dollars in a round of financing; early 2014, completed by Ali, New Horizon and other 4 institutions to invest about 120 million U.S. dollars in the B round of financing; October 2014, quickly got the Tiger fund, Ali and invest more than 200 million dollars C round financing.

Soft silver investment in taxi software is not the first case fast. In October 2014, SoftBank and Anitechnologies, an existing shareholder in the Indian taxi application, invested 210 million of billions of dollars and served as the leading party. The following December, SoftBank also invested 250 million of dollars in south-east Asia to use GrabTaxi, the company's largest investment in the Internet industry in Southeast Asia.

GrabTaxi co-founder Briancu has told the media publicly that SoftBank hopes to establish a global taxi app consortium that could involve information sharing and cross-platform bookings.

Nikesharora, vice chairman of SoftBank, said that in just two years, a quick taxi has grown into a leading Chinese taxi software industry. "Given its own excellent team and strong executive power, we believe that fast taxi business will grow significantly in the future," he said. ”

Analysts believe that the soft silver investment in the fast, may be with the previous investment of the two companies formed a coalition, and in the global scope and Uber direct competition.

Analysis that the telecommunications business from Japan, the soft silver, in the investment of many excellent internet companies, the next goal aimed at a quick taxi as the representative of the car Internet, in the hope that the use of a taxi to form a coalition in the global fight against the birth of the United States Uber.

In fact, in the Chinese market, including Hong Kong, fast taxi in the competition with Uber to maintain the absolute leading edge. CNET, an American technology website, has also said that Uber is facing a fast-growing competition in China.

Risk and opportunity coexist

As a stock market, taxi software has become saturated in taxis, and the market pattern has tended to stabilize. The car market, with its unlimited increments, seems to be more imaginative and attracts a number of rental companies to participate.

And the industry does not think the same, the original thought that taxi software in taxis subsidies war, the industry will have a quiet development. However, starting from the second half of 2014, the launch of the car service, a variety of face value of 20 yuan to 100 of different coupons issued to the user's taxi software, such as a car registration, if the first binding credit card will receive a 60-dollar voucher, drop car and easy to use cars given coupons are also big.

This shows that this round of "burning money" than the previous round. Li Min admits, the limousine service mainly aims at the high-end traveling crowd's demand, provides the differentiated service. "The profit model in this area is very clear, as long as there is an order, it is cash flow for us." If this can grow quickly, the overall profitability of the company will change. ”

In recent days, the controversy over the legality of the bus service is rife, but the ministry's stance also makes the car market situation become clear. According to the Ministry of Transport, the current various "car" software will be leased cars through the network platform integration, and in accordance with the willingness of passengers through third-party Labor services companies to provide driver service, is an innovative service model. At the same time, private car access platform is also prohibited to participate in the operation.

The Ministry of Communications, "on the comprehensive deepening of the transport reform of the views" announced recently, put forward to strengthen the mobile phone calls and other new service models of standardized management, and encourage the development of diversified vehicle services. To promote the taxi industry to implement the company, intensive management and staff management, and further form a smooth and orderly industry demand expression and protection of rights and interests mechanism.

This means that car rental companies with scarce car rental licences will become a sought-after resource. Some internet analysts believe that more and more competitors are joining the limousine service, and the challenges they face are more intense than the time of the taxi software. "On the one hand, the industry is optimistic, on the other hand because the lack of industry norms so that these companies are facing a certain risk." ”