May 7, 2018

(Yicai Global) May 7 -- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. affiliate Ant Financial Services Group, the world’s largest fintech firm, has led a new round of funding in Like Chuxing, a timeshare-based car-rental platform, just weeks after the startup completed its A-round. Junlian Capital, BlueRun Ventures, K2 Venture Capital and Lighthouse Capital also took part in the round, the startup’s operator Tianjingshan Friends Technology Co. said in a statement without disclosing how much money it had received this time. Like Chuxing will work closely with Ant Financial on customer service, social credit and financial innovation, technology site 36Kr reported Like Chuxing Chief Executive Wang Yang as saying. It will use the proceeds to expand services, as well as to develop and promote its products and technologies. The firm aims to roll out services in 20 to 25 cities across China by the end of this year reaching a fleet of 40,000 vehicles as part of efforts to become the world's biggest brand in its field. Founded last June, Like Chuxing has already launched operations in six cities including Guangzhou, Foshan, Wuhan, Chengdu, Nanjing and Changsha. Like Chuxing’s largest service network is in Guangzhou, where it operates nearly 1,000 rental locations. Some 80 percent of its downtown Guangzhou users can find one of its vehicles without walking more than 500 meters, the firm says. Just last month, Like Chuxing confirmed it had raised USD20 million in combined angel and A-series financing rounds. Legend Capital Co., backed by leading Chinese investor Legend Holdings Corp., led the angel round and took part in the second round. ×