After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future-Chapter 95: Mobike Financing

On Friday, Lu Liang was invited to the Shangri-La Hotel to attend Mobike's Series A funding reception.

Although the valuation was only ten million dollars, the event was as grand as if it were a billion-dollar funding round.

Upon entering, Lu Liang saw Li Bing and Shen Peng in conversation, and he vaguely heard that they were discussing the new energy vehicle industry.

He was curious but did not rush to join the conversation; instead, he casually picked up the Mobike funding proposal from the table and started flipping through it.

After a while, Li Bing and Shen Peng ended their conversation and walked over to Lu Liang with a smile, "Mr. Lu, I've long admired your reputation."

Though Lu Liang was not the one who invited him, he was somewhat a host and it was only right and proper to greet him.

He was also curious about Lu Liang who had caused a huge stir in the financial circle in the past half month and wanted to find out what kind of person he was.

"Mr. Li, you flatter me. Was that Redwood's Mr. Shen, Shen Peng, just now?" Lu Liang replied with a smile, though not too warmly.

Becoming a millionaire is one threshold, a billion another, but the gap between one billion and a hundred billion isn't as large as one might think.

Because those with wealth over a billion have already accumulated their initial capital; moreover, he was cash-rich.

Li Bing spoke with a smile, "We were just discussing the domestic new energy industry; are you interested, Mr. Lu?"

"I have heard that Modu is bringing in Tesla to accelerate the development of the new energy industry at home."

"You really know quite a bit, Mr. Lu."

Li Bing was surprised; the news of Modu bringing in Tesla was very insider information, not widely known unless one closely followed the industry.

Lu Liang smiled, "I chatted with a friend last time who mentioned it, and he also spoke of your NIO."

"Mr. Lu, how do you view this industry?"

Li Bing hoped Lu Liang could provide some unique insights from a financial practitioner's perspective.

In a low voice, Lu Liang said, "Low carbon, environmental protection, and promoting the development of new energy can help our country achieve carbon neutrality sooner."

Li Bing was taken aback, "Mr. Lu, do you really believe new energy is more environmentally friendly?"

"Mr. Li, it doesn't matter what we think, as long as it sounds environmentally friendly enough."

Lu Liang laughed; new energy wasn't particularly environmentally friendly, but to get business, one must first loudly advocate the ideology.

Even the United States, if they want to go to war, must produce a bottle of laundry detergent, proclaiming it a highly dangerous chemical.

Li Bing laughed too and shifted the topic, "Mr. Lu, what brings you here today, are you interested in Mobike's funding?"

He could see that Lu Liang wasn't interested in expanding the conversation, so he didn't bother to inquire further.

"I am somewhat interested, just not sure if I could subscribe to more shares."

Lu Liang said, glancing in Shen Peng's direction; the latter seemed to recognize him and smiled slightly while raising his glass in greeting.

Lu Liang also raised his glass with a smile as Li Bing whispered, "You can follow the investment, but leading it might be unlikely."

He paused then added, "Don't get me wrong, Mr. Lu, because Redwood is willing to sign legal terms with Mobike."

Li Bing knew Lu Liang had been brought over by Hu Weiwei, but also knew that he had invested in ofo, holding a 20% stake.

So, he had brought Shen Peng in, promising that Redwood would lead the investment until the IPO, but they could not invest in ofo.

Risk hedging was what every venture capitalist loved to do; investing in the top two meant no losses regardless of who won.

Venture capitalists might enjoy it, but companies may not.

Mobike was not an early-stage team like ofo; with Li Bing standing behind them, they had bargaining power and could pressure the venture capitalists.

Thus, he told Redwood directly, if they wanted to lead this or subsequent rounds of investment, it was possible, but they could only invest in this company and not any other shared bicycle enterprises.

Lu Liang furrowed his brows, looking toward Hu Weiwei not far away. Ashamed, Hu Weiwei lowered her head, not daring to meet his eyes.

Hu Weiwei had only just found out that Redwood was willing to sign legal terms with Mobike, thereby obtaining the right to lead the next few rounds of investment.

Although she hoped to bring Lu Liang on board to increase her influence in the company, Redwood's willingness to back Mobike alone left her with no reason to refuse.

After all, Redwood's solo backing of Mobike was beneficial in both the short and long term without any harm.

The dispute over influence between her and Li Bing should not affect the company's future development, so she could only apologize to Lu Liang.

In a soft voice, Li Bing said, "Mr. Lu, don't blame Mr. Hu. It's just that she's too young and inexperienced. I'm here to apologize to you on her behalf."

"Mr. Li, you exaggerate, but there's something I don't understand."

"Mr. Lu, please go ahead."

"Why don't you enter the fray yourself if you take such comprehensive care of Mobike?"

Lu Liang felt puzzled. If he had known about Li Bing's strong desire for control, he wouldn't have gotten involved in the dispute between Hu and Li.

"Human resources are sometimes exhausted. Although I favor shared bicycles, the market is ultimately too small."

Li Bing paused, his expression very serious, "Mr. Lu, new energy vehicles are the future trend."

Hu Weiwei's pride, Mobike, was only a chess piece in the layout of the new energy market in his view.

He was very optimistic about the new energy vehicle industry but the road ahead was arduous and unsure if he could endure until the dawn relied solely on him and Yiche.

He didn't care about Mobike but had a strong desire for control, hoping to use Mobike's financing to meet various capital magnates and pave the way for NIO.

"Completing industrial upgrading, reducing the dependence on a single energy source, and intervening in the Middle East situation are national policies; there is much to do in the new energy industry."

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Although Tianxing was not powerful, everyone knew that Lu Liang had made his fortune in just half a year, and perhaps in another year and a half, he might also become a major magnate, which is one of the reasons why Li Bing was courting him.

Lu Liang fell into deep thought. Li Bing seized the opportunity to press further, "Mr. Lu, now that new and old powers have entered the field, to the north there's Li Xiang of Auto Home, to the south there's He Xiaopeng of Guangqi, not to mention LeTV's Boss Jia, and BYD Wang, who has been developing new energy all along. With so many forces optimistic about the industry, even if it's not a trend yet, it will become a new trend."

Lu Liang thought for a moment and then, smiling, said, "Mr. Li, today is for Mobike's financing meeting; let's find time to talk about this matter in detail another day."

Li Bing, Li Xiang, He Xiaopeng, one relying on Yiche, one on Auto Home, another on Beiqi's team.

He planned to replicate Panda's strategy, as outsiders needed to pay some 'tuition' and make some friends.

"Alright, Mr. Lu, as you wish. It seems a friend is coming over, I'll go greet him."

Lu Liang nodded, following Li Bing's gaze, and saw Lei Jun from Xiaomi. A multi-million dollar valuation didn't attract him; presumably, Li Bing had brought him to support Mobike.

"It's not quite right to call him Lei Busi, better to say Lei Feite."

Lu Liang found a corner to rest, silently observing Lei Jun surrounded by a flurry of activity, held in high regard by everyone.

Since entering venture capital, he'd learned of Lei Jun's reputation in the field, equivalent if not surpassing Zhu Hu and Shen Peng.

Before founding Xiaomi, he had already been a very famous angel investor in China.

As time passed and heavyweights gathered, Hu Weiwei took the stage to discuss financing plans and announce the current share allocation.

Lu Liang raised his hand to beckon Wen Chao, whispering in his ear, "Go subscribe; take as much as you can."

Through this cocktail party, he had met Li Bing and understood his intentions; he had essentially achieved his goal.

The share of Mobike's financing was not important. Since he couldn't lead the investment, having a share or not didn't matter much.

Lu Liang was broad-minded, although Hu Weiwei and Li Bing didn't see it that way and still gave him a 3% share.

Ultimately, Redwood would monopolize 5% and lead this round, followed by Tianxing at 3%, and Chenyang and Jingfeng each holding 1%.

Lei Jun was merely passing by, there to support a good friend, showing his face before leaving.