UrWork Takes on WeWork in Fight for China's Shared Spaces
- Startup just raised about $58 million for expansion plans
- Growing field of operators include COWORK and MyDreamPlus
Mao Daqing, founder and chairman of UrWork.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
WeWork Cos. has found global success - and an $18 billion valuation - by turning austere office blocks into hipster havens for startups. But its expansion into China may soon be hampered by a familiar-sounding opponent - UrWork.
A stroll through one of UrWork’s Beijing “communities” shows just how similar the pair can be. Engineers dressed in hoodies tap away on keyboards in a wood-paneled cafe, with a bar and beer taps providing a focal point for communal bonding sessions.