TechCrunch is excited to announce that representatives from China’s top on-demand startups will be speaking at our inaugural event in Shenzhen.
Didi Chuxing, the company that beat Uber out of China, and red-hot bike-sharing startups Ofo and Mobike — which have pioneered a new kind of point-to-point transportation in China — are among the speakers confirmed for TechCrunch China in Shenzhen on June 19-20. Our China-based events attract thousands so go grab your tickets now — right here.
Stay tuned for more announcements around other interviewees and panelists who will take part in the event.
Beyond two days of insightful interviews and panel discussions, TechCrunch Shenzhen will include an exhibition hall, which, at our events in China, typically houses more than 100 startups and tech companies showing off a mix of hardware, software and other innovation. We’re also planning a range of events in and around the show with partners, we’ll have more details on that soon.
Now, here’s further information on those three companies named earlier.
Didi Chuxing needs little introduction, even outside of China where it doesn’t operate. The company, which is now the world’s second-highest valued private tech firm at $60 billion, beat out Uber in China and announced the acquisition of the U.S. company’s local business last year. Internationally, it has made investments in the U.S., India, Southeast Asia and Latin America and it recently revealed an ambition to expand operations outside of China.
We’re delighted to welcome Dr. Fengmin Gong, who heads up Didi’s recently opened U.S.-based research center, to the Shenzhen line-up. Dr. Gong and his team are responsible for developing Didi’s approach to artificial intelligence, self-driving car technology and security.
Didi has dominated its space in China, but there’s another up-and-coming area which is redefining transportation in the country today.
Bike-sharing companies have grabbed the headlines and investor dollars in China, and Mobike and Ofo are the world’s two biggest players.
Mobike has raised over $300 million this year from investors that include internet giant Tencent, Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn and Singapore’s state-owned investment firm Temasek. It has also expanded overseas beyond China, having amassed more than 10 million users on home soil already. With that in mind, we’re very happy to have Mobike co-founder and CTO Joe Xia join us to discuss how bike sharing is bringing the potential of the internet-of-things to life, among other topics.
Ofo, its key rival, meanwhile claims to be the industry’s first unicorn courtesy of a $400 million Series D round that was led by DST in February. Ofo co-founder Austin Zhang will appear on stage at the Shenzhen event to talk more about his company, the burgeoning industry and its potential to go beyond China.
Our first-ever Shenzhen event will take place June 19-20 at the I-Factory in Nanshan District — tickets are available now for $669. [Full event details here.]
Our sponsors help make our events happen. If you are interested in learning more about sponsorship opportunities, contact us by filling out this form.