Manbang, a leading Chinese platform connecting trucks with shippers – often described as the “Uber for trucks” – revealed on Tuesday that it secured $1.7 billion in its most recent investment round. This funding arrives two years after the company received $1.9 billion from investors including SoftBank Group and CapitalG, the venture capital arm of Alphabet Inc.

This announcement follows a report in the Wall Street Journal just two weeks prior, indicating Manbang was seeking $1 billion in preparation for a potential initial public offering next year. While the company did not offer a statement regarding this report, CEO Zhang Hui stated in May 2019 that the organization wasn't prioritizing going public.

Manbang reported achieving profitability during the current year. The company’s valuation was estimated to be approximately $10 billion in 2018.

The business operates an application that links truck drivers with businesses needing to transport goods and also offers financial solutions for truckers. It was created through the combination of competing companies Yunmanman and Huochebang in 2017, a period marked by consolidation and change within China’s “sharing economy.”

This latest funding round drew participation from prominent investors, including repeat backers SoftBank Vision Fund and Sequoia Capital China, alongside Permira and Fidelity, who jointly led the investment. Additional investors included Hillhouse Capital, GGV Capital, Lightspeed China Partners, Tencent, YF Capital (affiliated with Jack Ma), and others.

The company also maintains connections with Alibaba. Zhang, the CEO who initially founded Yunmanman, previously worked in Alibaba’s B2B division, as did Manbang’s chairman, Wang Gang, before he provided early funding for the ride-hailing service Didi.

Manbang states that its platform currently supports over 10 million verified drivers and 5 million cargo owners. The new capital will be used to increase investment in research and development, improve its matching technology, and broaden its services to include options like complete door-to-door delivery.

Sequoia Capital has demonstrated strong confidence in the truck-hailing sector, making this its sixth investment in Manbang. For Permira, a European private equity firm, this investment represents the first deployment of capital from its Growth Opportunities Fund within China.

Corrected the title of the story.