Didi Chuxing, China’s dominating ride-hailing giant, today announced that it has raised over $4 billion in a new equity funding round. Now having $12 billion in cash reserves, Didi has a valuation of more than $50 billion, making it one of Asia’s largest startups.
The new funding will be used to support Didi’s AI capacity-building, international expansion, and new business initiatives, including the development of new energy vehicle service networks, according the company’s statement.
Meituan, China’s leading food delivery platform, is determined to take on Didi, as Meituan is planning to expand its ride hailing service to seven major cities in China (in Chinese).
After testing the car-hailing business in Nanjing since February, Meituan is taking a step forward to challenge Didi’s dominant position in the sector by planning to roll out the ride-hailing service in seven cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Fuzhou, Wenzhou, and Xiamen, as reported by local media Caijing.
The war in the ride-hailing industry was assumably settled after Didi acquired Uber’s China operations last August, making Didi the dominator in the sector. However, with Meituan entering the battlefield, Didi’s position might be shaken. In October, Meituan landed a $4 billion Series C round of financing led by Tencent, and was valued at $30 billion.
It’s worth noting that Didi is reportedly working toward the launch of a food delivery service—one of Meituan’s core businesses. Meituan has a large scale of offerings, including food delivery, group buying, hotel booking, and even movie ticket sale, while Didi’s business has mainly been revolving around ride-hailing service.