(Yicai Global) March 12 -- Hello Chuxing, one of China’s top bike-sharing platforms, is preparing to go public in the US at the beginning of the second quarter and is aiming to raise about USD2 billion, news site Jiemian reported today.

The company, also known as Hello TransTech, is backed by big names such as fintech giant Ant Group, battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology and investment firm Primavera Capital and has completed 15 rounds of fundraising in its five-year history.

Hello Chuxing, which started out as bike-sharing firm Hello Bike, has managed to avoid falling into the same cashburning pitfalls as its predecessors, such as Mobike and Ofo, which quickly disappeared from sight.

The market was too lavish when capital players and consumers were optimistic about the sector, founder Yang Lei said back in 2019. Firms would burn through cash subsidies to keep up with rivals and maintain a rapid pace of expansion. Hello Chuxing, however, has been careful to watch every penny and use money wisely while planning for the future, he said.

The business, operated by Shanghai Junzheng Network Technology, now boasts over 400 million registered users and its services are available in over 460 cities. And it has started to diversify aggressively.

Last year Hello Chuxing took on sector leader Didi Chuxing with a new offering Hello Dache that provides carsharing and carpooling services. It has also been following industry giant Meituan into the life services field with new ‘intra-city logistics’ and ‘bulk buying’ services.

It is now looking into travel, with the aim of being a travel-based platform that provides daily life services, a person familiar with the matter said.

Editor: Kim Taylor