“When a business model is repeatable, (…) Term details” class=”glossaryLink “>startup, Didi Kuaidi (the new name for the merger between Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache), revealed today that it has raised a record-breaking US$2 billion in funding.
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While Uber’s exploits and influence in numerous largest nations is well-known at this stage, the company are still attempting to crack the biggest market of all – China – where Didi Kuadi is still officially the most-used service.
Capital global Private Equity Funds and Chinese insurer Ping An Insurance Group are among the investors participating in Didi Kuaidi Joint Co.’s fundraising, which could raise its value at around $15 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday quoting insider sources.
The financing round has not been fully completed, and the final fundraising total may exceed US$2 billion, says Chinese media reports. In June, Uber started formal fundraising specifically for its China operation, UberChina.
The round, which began two weeks ago, will increase the three-year-old company’s cash reserves to over US$3.5 billion.
China’s ride-hailing market is a two-horse race.
The company said it would use the capital from the round to develop new services, upgrade its platform technology and fund research in data sciences. Both companies are raising fresh capital to help lure traffic to their services, which includes spending huge sums on subsidies to entice drivers and riders.
Existing stakeholders, together with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Tencent Holdings Ltd, Temasek Holdings (Private) Ltd and Coatue Management, additionally took half within the newest fundraising, the assertion stated. The strong demand, which Didi said in an earlier letter to investors was oversubscribed in five days, could push the size of the fundraising round beyond its original target.
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Didi Kuaidi, which is backed by technology giants Alibaba and Tencent and calls itself the world’s largest one-stop mobile-based transportation network, said its fundraising attracted “tremendous interest” from global investors.
