Station-free bike sharing start-up Ofo raised more than $1 billion in equity funding in a deal that included Alibaba, according to a Financial Times report. The bike-sharing market in China is saturated enough that discarded bikes have become an issue in cities there, and at least one start-up, Bluegogo, recently folded. But Ofo and Mobike have become mainstays. According to FT, Ofo has “Put 10 million bikes on China’s city streets, as well as 100,000 in 19 other countries around the world. On Wednesday Ofo launched in Paris.”
SoftBank Vision Fund lead a $450 million investment into real-estate site Compass, which was previously known as Urban Compass. The company provides real estate agents with listings and other tools, and provides high-end home buyers and renters with listings targeted to their preferences. TechCrunch reported that Compass expects to rack up “16,000 transactions…and more than $350 million in revenue” this year.
Shell Technology Ventures, ABB Ventures and Cisco Ventures joined G2VP in a $33 million Series C funding round for Kespry. The start-up makes and uses drones to help businesses monitor and gather aerial data over industrial work sites, farms and infrastructure. Many of its customers are insurance companies that need to survey damages before paying out claims.
Fetch Robotics raised $25 million in a Series B round of venture funding for robots used in warehouses and other commercial settings. The company’s autonomous robots can move loads around a warehouse or fulfillment center, and gather data about safety, productivity and more as they go. Sway Ventures led the round joined by O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures (OATV), Shasta Ventures, and SoftBank.
