(Yicai Global) Dec. 29 -- Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing is looking to raise USD500 million for its cash-burning bike-sharing unit to avoid meeting the same fate as Ofo and Mobike, once pioneers in the sector, which have since disappeared from the streets, tech media 36Kr reported.

Beijing-based Didi Chuxing is in negotiations with at least three institutional investors to raise money for Didi Bike, also known as Qingju, the report said. Its two-wheeled business already received a USD1 billion cash injection from investors such as Beijing-based Legend Capital in April.

The bike-sharing concept, once so popular, turned out to be unsustainable by many as firms burned through cash to gain market share and cities revolted against the hordes of bikes being discarded by users in random places. Mobike is now Meituan bike after being acquired by takeout and online deals giant Meituan and Ofo has since rebranded into a shopping app.

Didi Bike, Meituan Bike and Hellobike, owned by e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, are now the biggest players but have yet to turn a profit.

Didi Chuxing, which was an investor in Beijing-based Ofo but later fell out with one of the founders, took over bankrupt bike sharing firm Bluegogo in 2018 and turned it into Didi Bike.

Didi Bike delivered 23 million rides on Oct. 23, almost double the number on the same day last year, which had the most rides that year. It plans to receive 40 million orders a day within the next three years, it said in April.

Editor: Kim Taylor