Chinese bike sharing sharing startup Ofo has reportedly raised $1 billion

Chinese bike-sharing startup Ofo has raised $1 billion (£750 million) from investors, according to a report in The Financial Times on Thursday.

The Beijing headquartered company reportedly raised the money from Alibaba, which is sometimes referred to as the "Amazon of China," and others.

Ofo did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Ofo was founded in 2014 by five Peking University students. The company's bright yellow bikes can be accessed via an app that uses a bluetooth connection to unlock them. They cost 50p for 30 minutes and can be picked up and dropped off anywhere that bike parking is permitted.

The company, which launched in Paris on Wednesday, raised over £541 million in Series E financing round in July this year.

In November, Ofo said it planned to deploy 20 million bikes on streets in 20 countries across the globe.

Rival firm oBike also operates a dock-free bike sharing scheme. The company was criticised by London councils in July for "littering" the streets with its bikes.