這就開始了。中國媒體報道，中國第三大共享單車初創企業小藍單車已停止運營，成為這個快速發展的科技行業中第一家倒下的大公司。同時，許多分析師都認為這個行業正迅速邁向“清算”時刻。

目前中國有近30家共享單車公司，它們都面向智能手機用戶，采用隨借隨還，無樁停放模式，小藍單車就是其中之一。這家公司2016年開業，吸引了超過9000萬美元（約5.97億元人民幣）風投資金。鼎盛時期的小藍單車稱自己擁有2000萬注冊用戶，投放自行車超過70萬輛，除中國外，它還將業務擴展到了舊金山和悉尼。

小藍單車在兩個海外城市的擴張嘗試均以失敗告終。在舊金山，它遇到了來自當地政界人士的巨大阻力，短短四個月后便偃旗息鼓。在悉尼，小藍單車的做法是向當地共享單車公司Reddy Go提供自行車，但Reddy Go隨后中斷了和小藍單車的合作談判，轉而選擇了另一家自行車提供商。

不過，小藍單車在國內的財務問題直到上周才全面爆發——國內社交媒體上出現了對該公司的抱怨之聲。用戶憤怒地表示已經不能用小藍單車app給自行車開鎖，退還押金的要求也未得到該公司回應。到小藍單車北京總部采訪的國內新聞記者發現這家公司已經人去樓空。媒體消息稱，小藍單車上周三遣散了員工；多位高管證實他們已經離職。多篇報道指出小藍單車欠下了30萬美元（約199萬元人民幣）的寫字樓租金。一家為小藍單車提供自行車的企業向《環球時報》透露，小藍單車拖欠的款項超過150萬美元（約995萬元人民幣）。

上周四晚，小藍單車首席執行官李剛發表公開信，稱另一家國內企業正在收購小藍單車。他寫道：“作為一位CEO，我做錯了……曾經我自詡勇敢不慫……”李剛同時否認自己已經出境。

中國金融投資網報道，今年2月小藍單車融資4億元人民幣，領投方為如今看來名字頗為應景的北京風投基金黑洞資本，跟投方為智能星通。當時對小藍單車的估值為10億元人民幣）。

在小藍單車之前，幾家規模較小的共享單車公司在半年時間里相繼倒閉，其中包括悟空單車、3vBike和町町單車。許多分析師預測，這個行業即將出現殘酷的整合，最終活下來的只會有一、兩家公司。業內兩大巨頭——騰訊支持的摩拜單車和得到阿里巴巴助力的ofo共享單車——均已融資近10億美元（約66.35億元人民幣），而且外界普遍認為它們將成為共享單車領域最后的贏家。

18個月來，中國共享單車行業一直以令人驚訝的速度發展著，互為對手的公司用橙、黃、藍等色彩各異的自行車填滿了城市的大街小巷。還有很多公司涉足海外市場，進入了波士頓、華盛頓、新加坡和吉隆坡。

小藍單車管理松懈的跡象很明顯。今年夏天，小藍單車app用坦克圖標取代了一些自行車圖標，如果用戶騎了坦克圖標代表的自行車，就會獲得獎勵，此舉讓小藍單車的這次推廣活動顯得頗為怪異。

在中國共享單車行業，就連管理完善的公司也如同逆水行舟。這個行業的泡沫早已昭然若揭，參與者甚眾，支持它們的風投資金太多，它們追逐的利潤卻太少。行業洗牌在所難免。真正的問題在于，小藍單車的倒閉是否預示著中國其他互聯網相關行業也將出現類似的整合。（財富中文網）

譯者：Charlie?

And so it begins. Chinese media report that Bluegogo, the nation’s third-largest dockless bike-sharing startup, has ceased operations, becoming the first major casualty in a fast-paced tech sector many analysts warn is hurtling towards a reckoning.

Bluegogo was among nearly 30 Chinese startups allowing users to rent bikes with smartphones and leave them wherever they like. The company launched in 2016 with more than $90 million dollars in venture funding. At its peak, Bluegogo claimed 20 million registered users, deployed more than 700,000 bikes, and launched operations in San Francisco and Sydney as well as China.

Bluegogo’s attempts at global expansion both ended in failure. In San Francisco, the company ran into stiff resistance from local politicians and suspended operations after only four months. In Sydney, Bluegogo supplied bicycles for local bike-sharing venture Reddy Go, but the Australian firm broke off partnership negotiations and dropped Bluegogo in favor of another bike supplier.

But the full extent of Bluegogo’s financial difficulties in its home market didn’t emerge until this week, when Chinese social media erupted in complaints about the company. Users fumed that the Bluegogo app no longer unlocks bikes and that the company isn’t responding to requests for refund of their deposits. Chinese media descended on Bluegogo headquarters in Beijing to discover offices locked and abandoned. Chinese press report that the company dismissed staff on Wednesday. multiple senior Bluegogo executives confirmed that they have left the company. According to several reports, Bluegogo owes $300,000 in office rent. A Bluegogo bike supplier told the Global Times the company owes it more than $1.5 million.

In a public letter released Thursday night, Bluegogo chief executive Li Gang said the company was being acquired by another Chinese firm. “As a CEO, I’ve made mistakes,” Li wrote. “I was filled with arrogance.” He denied reports that he had fled the country.

China Money Network reports that Bluegogo raised $58 million in February led by an aptly named Beijing-based venture fund Black Hole Capital, and Smart Xintong, a Shenzhen-based healthcare equipment developer. The investments valued Bluegogo at $140 million.

Bluegogo’s crack-up follows the collapse of several smaller Chinese bike-sharing companies within the past six months, including Wukong, 3vBike, and Ding Ding. Many analysts predict the industry is headed for a bloody consolidation in which only one or two players survive. The sectors two giants—Mobike, backed by Tencent Holdings, and Ofo, backed by Alibaba Group—have each reached raised roughly $1 billion in funding and are widely tipped as the industry’s final victors.

Over the past 18 months, China’s bike-sharing industry has rolled out with astonishing speed as rival companies saturate city streets with a riot of orange, yellow and blue cycles. Many have launched operations overseas in locations including Boston, Washington D.C., Singapore and Kuala Lampur.

There were clear signs of lax management at Bluegogo. The company ran in to trouble with a bizarre summer promotional campaign that replaced some of the bike icons on its app with icons for tanks, offering prizes to users who rode bikes depicted by tanks.

But in China’s bikes-sharing sector, even well-managed ventures face an uphill climb. It has long been clear that the sector is a bubble, with far too many players backed by far too much venture funding chasing far too little profit. A shakeout was inevitable. The real question is whether Bluegogo’s collapse portends a similar consolidation in other Chinese Internet sectors.