Bike-sharing startup Ofo has raised $1bn

Bike-sharing company Ofo has raised $1bn from investors, including Chinese ecommerce business Alibaba, according to a report by the Financial Times.

It had previously been reported that the startup was in talks to raise the money led by Japan's SoftBank. Other names which have been mentioned as possible investors include Didi Chuxing, China's answer to Uber, and previous investors Alibaba.

Co-founder Pinjie Yang previously said in September that the company aimed to expand to up to 30 countries by 2018, with a launch planned for Moscow next year. He also confirmed that Ofo was looking to raise up to $1bn but did not say which banks were involved.

It marks another aggressive move in the bike-sharing war, as Ofo only completed its last fundraising round in June of this year. The group has been wrestling with rivals such as Mobike and Obike in key cities. London has become a major battleground, with Ofo, Urbo, oBike and Mobike all now competing for customers in the capital.

Ofo's fundraising has emerged the day after the company moved into another key market, bringing its dockless bikes to the streets of Paris.

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