Taxi software capital favor for what?

Earlier this month, a drop of taxis just announced the completion of a new round of $700 million trillion in financing, and once created China Mobile Internet sector's largest single financing record, as well as the Chinese Internet unlisted companies, one of the largest single financing.

December 29, another taxi software quick Taxi is also spread 800 million of dollars of financing news, the source said the quick taxi investors in addition to Alibaba and Tiger Fund, there are two other large funds, but the news has not been quickly official confirmation. If 800 million dollar financing news is true, quick Taxi will refresh drip taxi 700 million dollar financing record. In addition to the Spring Festival before and after the completion of the Super 100 million dollar B-round financing, September completion of the 200 million U.S. dollar C-round financing, quick taxi in 2014, the total amount of financing will be more than 1 billion U.S. dollars.

In fact, the capital's favor in the taxi software industry is not just in China. Just before the drip announced the round of funding, Uber had just completed 1.2 billion dollars in funding. Uber, a domestic market research firm, has said the 1.2 billion-dollar round of financing could bring the company's valuation to about $40 billion trillion. The valuation is also a handful of Uber technology companies in the world that have only been set up for more than 4 years.

In addition, Malaysia's newly established GrabTaxi also received $250 million trillion in soft silver financing, valued at more than 1 billion U.S. dollars.

Hundreds of millions of of dollars, a billion of of dollars of investment, capital for the taxi market enthusiasm has continued, even those who will be the IPO companies will not catch up with the taxi software market financing scale and speed.

What does capital favor?

Businessmen do not have the benefit of the early, taxi software to burn money subsidies is not a public welfare campaign.

In the second half of 2013, after receiving Ali, Tencent hundreds of millions of dollar investment, taxi software market from the "Hundred schools" into the "dual-male hegemony", fast and drop also set off a trip to burn money.

This spring festival just over, drop a taxi and quick taxi at the expense of the whole country to invite people to take a taxi activities, for a while, drop and fast almost become a meal talk about the topic will be discussed. Although after a period of time, both sides have stopped the marketing campaign, but other subsidies on both sides continued, for example, in the micro-ring rage rob a taxi red envelopes, after the micro-letter also because of shielding quick taxi red envelopes, the micro-letter open strategy to the cusp.

There is no denying that the drip and fast burning of money is a remarkable success. Many users have been attracted by red envelopes to download a taxi software, the use of taxi software to call car travel habits are gradually formed. Both sides of the competition show a tug of battle in the market, the market share is also equal.

In fact, the taxi software is only a pawn, behind Tencent, Ali in the mobile payment field showdown. Whether subsidizing drivers or passengers, their intention is not simply to take a taxi market, but to target mobile payments and the huge commercial benefits that exist behind them.

Because the taxi software not only solves the problem of taxi, taxi behavior itself with the use of high frequency, wide range of characteristics, and the taxi app will travel and mobile payment phase "wooing", suitable for widespread dissemination. As a result, the Giants, in addition to the accumulation of user size, training payment habits, but also around the taxi users launched a precision marketing.

For example, Ali's cloud platform Aliyun, it will be through the user's taxi habits, taxi path, as well as user class data analysis, mining consumer potential needs, optimize the services provided. An obvious example is that the taxi software just came up with no differential push, and now there are many factors such as geographical distance, which is the result of large data analysis and optimization.

And these user data for the entire mobile payment layout is very important, because the use of taxi software must start positioning services, based on this to understand and cultivate users and merchants of the mobile payment habits, and to push the user to send a taxi destination life service information, to achieve a variety of services content overlay, and merchants and consumers to obtain profits, No matter the micro-letter or Alipay did not let this opportunity.

In addition, payment in the entire ecological chain layout, belonging to the last kilometer, only a firm grasp of the payment, Ali and Tencent O2O ecological chain is complete, at the same time, with the development of Internet finance, the role of mobile payment is also related to two huge in the Internet financial layout. As a result, taking a taxi as an easily accepted service is a great tool for the giant to improve the penetration rate of mobile payment.

The well-known third party investigation organization Head Li admits, the taxi software brings the revelation perhaps is discovers solves the single point problem the scene, can activate the line on-line the user and the resources.

This makes the Uber that has been salivating over the Chinese market, also read the Chinese classics. December 17, Baidu announced and Uber to reach cooperation and investment intentions, the future will be in technological innovation, explore the international market, expand China O2O Service three aspects of cooperation. Uber taxi service will be connected to Baidu Map, Baidu Mobile and other apps, Baidu Wallet as a payment system will also be included in the cooperation. So far the taxi software market finally bat pillars.

As you know, Baidu in the field of payment late, Baidu Wallet in mid-April this year to complete the brand construction, although after a vigorous market promotion, but still do not have a good focus on the consumption scene. Uber, perhaps Baidu Purse is the best choice.

Huge financing, is the industry flourishing or bubble?

When the drop of 700 million dollar financing news was confirmed, there have been a lot of questioning voice, a taxi software really so valuable?

The number is staggering enough to know that many of the best Internet companies in the country are getting more than hundreds of millions of dollars in financing and fundraising before they go public or when they land in the U.S. market.

NET, who has been in local life for many years, has received a new round of financing for more than 200 million yuan this year; The newly listed US Nasdaq listing, on the day of the IPO, ended up with $13.5 in final pricing, and only 216 million dollars.

Compared with the access to financing, taxi software market capitalisation is more imaginative space, a lot of domestic internet companies can not.

In the face of two years burned billions of yuan, access to financing, taxi software companies in improving user travel to continue to "burn money" activities, as well as increase technology research and development capabilities, continue to taxi software vitality, so that more users accept taxi software value.

However, can a large subsidy change the loyalty of the user to the brand and service? When the subsidy is completely stopped, how many users continue to use the software by taxi or limousine service?

Not long ago, Zhang Ying, the founding partner of Jingwei China, also said that the capital of the winter may be coming, "the next wave of enterprises can survive, is those who can find a suitable business model of entrepreneurs." ”

At present, whether the drop is fast, or the new Uber into China, are caught in the business model. The CEO has said that the business model of dropping a taxi is destined to build on the basis of operating large data, while the fast COO Zhao Dong says that, in addition to traditional methods such as advertising, fast location-based services (LBS) can also be considered for income. But they still seem hollow at this stage.

In the second half of this year, the two sides into the car market may be a powerful exploration in the business model.

In fact, quick taxi and followed Ali play O2O, fast even claimed to have become the largest O2O trading platform. It seems to them that any taxi software company will not only provide a simple taxi service in the future, and build a Mobile information travel platform based on O2O is a fast long-term vision. At present, quick taxi has been connected to include Alipay wallet, high-speed map, Baidu Map, Ctrip, the same process, high-speed rail housekeeper, Air China app and other types of applications to meet the different levels of user groups travel needs. Inevitable, fast also must do the logistics.

And in the taxi this demand is mature, the user education cost is relatively low and the total quantity huge market, the two big giant billions of yuan's investment has not distinguished the competition, that in the model not clear, the user demand and the custom unknown new market, how much burns how many money? Perhaps the cost of nurturing the market will be much greater than that of the opponents.

First of all, policy risks and security risks are not the past, taxi and car services, have encountered policy issues, and car services in many cities in the country broke out of the "black car" incident, may also drop the need to open up a new market reasons.

In addition, in the Special car project drip, quick wait for a taxi principle is not built own fleet, but through the Internet services to connect users with Third-party owners and resources. Even the drop of CEO Cheng Wei in 700 million dollars after the new direction given by the same city logistics, mobile retailing, intelligent public transport.

However, in addition to providing more convenience for users to travel, the new business personalized services, another feature is "moving goods", the existing domestic use of private car owners to express the app service, has faced a lack of supervision and qualification of security questions, while in the retail sector, the regulatory, policy and qualifications involved are more complex and comprehensive.

In contrast, "intelligent public transport" faced more problems in policy supervision rather than security, the public travel system is not the intelligent transformation of the new topic, and few successful cases because of this market is facing the policy resistance, far more than the taxi market.

Although this is also the most imaginative and commercial potential business, and regardless of whether the policy is allowed, the drop of the opponents will also include the subway, public transport media.

There has been a view that by subsidizing users and drivers, it is not a long-term solution to overwhelm each other with a price war. Because when the subsidy stops, the user data decline is an indisputable fact. In addition, there is no good profit model all will become empty talk, a mere tens of millions of of the advertising profits and two years burned billions of yuan is only a drop in the bucket. At the same time, the biggest drawback of this approach is the artificial bubble, it is difficult to achieve the desired user habits and stickiness.

How big an ambition can a huge amount of financing hold up?

From the base of the taxi market, to the limousine service, drop and fast of the burning money competition is staggering, "two years 2 billion (RMB)" burning money speed, so even the big money to burn the video site also looked at and sigh-even so, did not burn a eminence.

After the completion of 700 million dollars in financing, drop has begun to large-scale burning money, taxi and car red envelopes are much more generous than before, so that users enjoy the "wayward" pleasure. Similarly, once the quick taxi 800 million financing news is true, perhaps a new round of burning money activities will begin.

In fact, the drop and fast of most of the money to the current or user subsidies, regardless of client or driver side, the fact that the subsidy is very large.

In the middle of this year, a quick taxi, drop a taxi has launched a car service, in order to rapidly expand the user and market size, both at the expense of all kinds of subsidies, so that its capital consumption rapidly rise.

According to an investor close to a taxi, the cost of a taxi company is now more than 30 million dollars a month, and in fact its subsidy has not tightened, but it has become increasingly violent. This figure will be further expanded by its continued large-scale subsidy to drivers and the subsidy of users.

In addition, in the car business, the current drop and fast are increasing the intensity of the layout: the bulk of the introduction of vehicles, drivers, push, and constantly improve the vehicle supporting facilities, configuration, at the same time the shuttle service quickly infiltrated in more cities, urban scale expansion and market share possession. This part of the cost, in fact, is not a small expenditure.

Industry insiders said that the speed of calculation, a one-time financing can only maintain its one-year consumption, after a year and then need new financing to come in, unless the period to achieve profit, but this is less likely.

It is noteworthy that, after the financing, drop a taxi began to vigorously promote the car, car travel habits also because of robbing the car red envelopes gradually formed. And the 1th car since the launch, the subsidy is not small, perhaps also by the "financing" again.

In addition, no matter whether the drop of a taxi or a quick taxi, never stop the promotion of their own brands and the increase in user installed capacity. Now no matter between the building, bus stop or the commercial area of the LED advertising screen, everywhere can see drop or quick taxi of large advertising, drop even hit the TV ads, as well as the film "one step Away" to increase publicity efforts, according to the disclosure only "one step away" and invited the Stars and other promotional activities on the spent drop of 1.2 billion yuan, Therefore, this part of the expenditure can not be underestimated.

In fact, unlike many other Internet market segments, taxi software market is not too rich in foreign experience, Uber still focused on taxi services, deep digging user experience and gradually derived some marginal services, but for the drop and express, the basic service results are still micro-premise, but also temporarily difficult to follow.

So this determines the drop, fast, need to start from scratch, self groping-and this is only the beginning of all-out war. The expansion of the new business to drop and fast-headed taxi software, but also need to fight while learning, feasible direction and highlight the potential of the business, will quickly white-hot, burning money subsidies or inevitable.

In the future, with the development of mobile Internet and intelligence, use the terminal to help themselves to complete life needs or will become more mainstream, and taxi software is also in compliance with this trend, it or will continue to exist, but in its business model has not been clear, user habits have not formed a market environment, backed by the giant "burning money war" is still continuing.