Smart Bike Startup Yunmake Gets Series A From Xiaomi Founder’s Investment Firm

Yunmake, a Hangzhou-based smart bike maker, has raised a Series A led by Shunwei Capital, the investment firm led by Xiaomi chief executive officer Lei Jun. The company did not reveal the precise amount, but an article posted to Yunmake founder and CEO Qiu Yiwu’s Weibo said that the round is worth “tens of millions of RMB” (10 million RMB is equal to about $1.6 million).

Other participants include Foxconn, Qualcomm, ZhenFund, Ricebank, and Yinxinggu Capital. Shunwei and Ricebank are both returning investors, having contributed to Yunmake’s angel round last year, according to TechNode.

Yunmake makes foldable electric bikes, like the X1 (pictured above), that are battery-powered and connected to an app.

While a Xiaomi representative declined to comment on potential collaborations with Yunmake, Shunwei’s (and, by extension, Lei Jun’s) interest in the company is notable because Xiaomi is busy building a hardware ecosystem that extends beyond its smartphones. Xiaomi hasn’t rolled out vehicles yet, but reports have surfaced that it wants to add electronic bikes and smart cars to its growing roster of consumer hardware.

Devices sold by the company now run the gamut from GoPro-like action cameras, smart televisions, and fitness trackers to less glamorous products like a smart air purifier. Cynics may wonder why Xiaomi is hawking blood pressure monitors, but asanalyst Ben Thompson of Stratechery wrote earlier this year, Xiaomi doesn’t just want to be a phone maker—it’s intent on becoming an Internet of Things company.

Most of its hardware runs on MIUI, Xiaomi’s Android skin, and are connected to its messaging service and e-commerce store. In an interview with TechCrunch’s Jon Russell earlier this year, Xiaomi’s international vice president Hugo Barra explained that Xiaomi monetizes through its software services, so bringing more people into its ecosystem through low-priced hardware that covers different lifestyle needs is essential.

Comments

How Education Will Be Smarter, Less Intrusive, And Able To Respond To How You Feel

Impatience characterizes the technology sector’s approach to education. Disruption is taking place in all other sectors of society — so, why not education? I know too well, whether at Pearson or in the classroom, the challenges and frustration of developing and using digital tools that improve outcomes for students. But I’m optimistic. We are on the verge of a tide of smarter innovation that, if allowed to spread, will turbocharge the learning experience for students. Here are four areas worth watching: 1. Using technology to learn from learners Every great digital product constantly evolves by learning from its users, adding capabilities, and improving its performance. If it’s true for your Facebook feed, then why not education? The potential is there, as the OECD’s recent report on Students, Computers and Learning (OECD) incidentally showed how clickstream and tracking navigation in digital readers can be used to see how students process online text and...

Google Announces Android Wear Update With WiFi Support, Always-On Apps, And More

It has been a while since Android Wear got any substantial updates, but today Google is announcing a big one. A new version of Wear will be rolling out over the coming weeks that includes a number of previously rumored features (like WiFi support) and some all new stuff (like always-on apps). Most Wear devices use the always-on ambient mode for the watch face by default, the Moto 360 being a notable exception. The new Android Wear version allows apps to operate in ambient mode too, so they remain active when the watch goes to sleep. That makes it easier to take a quick glance at the app instead of waking the device up and opening the app all over again. The watch will still only go into full-color mode when necessary. WiFi support is also coming in the update, which means your watch can be useful even if your phone isn't connected. Watches with WiFi support will be able to connect to WiFi and still get messages and notifications from your phone, provided it has an interne...

The Eight Most Impactful Excel Shortcuts That You Should Master

If you’ve ever gone online to research improving your Excel skills, you’ve undoubtedly come across a post or two listing all of Excel’s keyboard shortcuts. In the latest version of Excel, Microsoft has made it easier than ever to learn shortcuts, by assigning shortcuts to nearly every function and making the discovery of the input sequence very transparent. While memorizing Excel shortcuts will generally improve your productivity, not all shortcuts are created equal. Shortcuts that you never use are not inherently not very useful and not worth memorizing. Your focus should be on the shortcuts that have the most impact – either by the amount of time it saves you, the frequency that you’ll use them, or the behavior it encourages. If you’ve already started using Excel or just haven’t utilized shortcuts heavily before, review the top eight shortcuts below. For any that you don’t know already, I would suggest memorizing them and incorp...

Budding #entrepreneur from Chandigarh University!!

Budding #entrepreneur from Chandigarh University!! #CU #students unfolded their creative ideas and presented them with a productive shape! Meet Our #Automobile #Engineering student - Trilok Singh, who has started his own start-up with the name GEARR TECHNOLOGIES under the guidance of CU-TBI. This start up focuses on affordable high end #Bicycles and its high #technology equipment’s. This start- up will bring to the Indian audience the scope of Products, #innovation, creativity and customization available in the market. Watch the video!!

Exciting Technology

Search This Blog