Apple CEO Tim Cook Visits Ofo Headquarters in Beijing

By Justine Lopez

Tim Cook is in town yet again. This time around, the Apple CEO dropped by the Ofo headquarters in Beijing and met with CEO Dai Wei on Tuesday, South China Morning Post reports.

Cook spent over an hour at Ofo, where he met and posed for pictures with company employees. Cook even hopped on one of Ofo’s iconic yellow bikes.

"Thanks for welcoming me today, ofo team! I wish you great energy behind your mission to make commuting greener, more efficient and fun!" Cook wrote on Weibo after Tuesday’s meeting.

Ofo, one of the major competitors in China’s bike-sharing revolution, is backed by the car-hailing comapany Didi. Apple invested USD1 billion in Didi in May 2016.

The reason behind Cook’s visit to the Ofo offices is unknown. According to Ofo, there were no discussions of future collaboration or investment.

Three weeks ago Ofo announced a massive investment of USD450 million from numerous investors, including Didi, MatrixPartners China and Citic Private Equity. The company is now valued at over USD1 billion.

As of Tuesday, Ofo's daily bike rentals in China exceed 10 million. Ofo currently has 2.2 million bikes in 43 cities in China and plans to launch trial runs in Singapore, London, and California.

For more Beijing news, click "Read more" below.