A startup called LimeBike has raised $12 million in venture funding to make Chinese-style bike sharing mainstream in the US. Andreessen Horowitz led the round joined by IDG Ventures, DCM Ventures and other investors who declined to be named.
In China, companies like MoBike and Ofo have raised massive amounts of venture capital and distributed tens of thousands of their GPS-enabled bikes in urban markets. The bikes do not have to be retrieved and returned at docks like they do in major US bike sharing programs such as the Citibike initiative with Motivate Co. in New York.
According to LimeBike co-founders, Chairman Brad Bao and CEO Toby Sun, the startup is working with the Bay Area bicycle coalitions, and other advocacy groups, to forge strong relationships with different cyclist communities across the US.
LimeBike, which is based in San Mateo, Calif., is entering an increasingly crowded market. Competitors offering kiosk-free bike sharing in the US include Social Bicycles, Spin, Bluegogo and Zagster. And Motivate Co., the domestic leader so far, is still expanding its bike share programs with kiosks, locking in exclusive contracts with cities, typically, wherever they go.
For its roll out this April, LimeBike has designed bicycles with: GPS- and 3G-connectivity; foam core tires that aren’t at risk of deflating; a large metal basket for carrying cargo; an on-board solar panel and smart lock. Customers will pay $1 for every 30 minutes of use. They can fire up LimeBike’s mobile app…