Exclusive | The shy geek behind Hellobike – the latecomer that battled for survival in China’s bike sharing industry

  • Hellobike has survived a brutal shake out, emerging in third spot behind Ofo and Mobike
  • Yang does not engage in small talk in the office, preferring to get on with the job while listening to light music with his Airpods

Yingzhi Yangin Beijing
Hellobike co-founder and CEO Yang Lei – a shy geek who battled it out for No 3 spot in the bike sharing industry. Photo: Handout

It was the only moment of relief in two years of anxiety. In November last year, Yang Lei got confirmation that Alibaba Group Holding’s financial arm, Ant Financial Services, would back his bike sharing start-up Hellobike. It meant nothing less than the continued survival of the company which Yang, a serial entrepreneur, had co-founded two years earlier when he was only 28.

A year on and the anxiety is still there, but Shanghai-based Hellobike has survived a brutal shake out in China’s bike sharing industry, emerging in third spot behind two Beijing-based companies, Ofo and Mobike.

Print option is available for subscribers only.
SUBSCRIBE NOW
Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.