China’s most popular ride-hailing app Didi Kuaidi said on Monday it has invested in Indian peer Ola, forging a new alliance within a network of companies challenging United States rival Uber Technologies Inc.
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Didi Kuaidi have not disclosed the scale of investment, part of Ola’s latest round of fundraising, though Times of India quoted the sum as being close to $30 million. While rival Uber, the company that all other ride-sharing services is looking to challenge, continues to expand its business all over the world supported by funding of no less than $8.2 billion and a valuation of $50 billion, Didi Kuaidi is focusing on China for its business.
The investment by Didi Kuaidi in Ola is part of an interesting strategy being carried out by the company and its investors. The company recently announced a plan to invest $75 million in a new vehicle leasing program, which is expected to add 10,000 additional drivers to its national network. Previously, it secured US$400 million in Series E led by DST Global, with participation from GIC, Falcon Edge, SoftBank, Tiger Global, Steadview Capital and Accel Partners (US) in April this year.
Didi Kuaidi is a company made up of China’s two largest taxi-hailing firms- Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache as result of a merger in February 2015… Didi looks to engage local industry champions like Ola to share technology and best practices in product development and operational expertise.
Established in 2012, Kuaidi Group has a peak of six million daily ride requests and focuses on city-bound travel covering almost 300 cities in China, including Hong Kong. The money will be used to fund Ola’s continued expansion in india where it already offers taxis, leased cars, and motorized rickshaws – and claims up to 80 percent of the taxi-hailing market.
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Didi Kuaidi said in the statement that it operates a comprehensive transportation service for over 200 million Chinese users ranging from private car-hailing, chauffeur service, Hitch (social ridesharing service), bus and taxi-hailing.
