Uber continues to face stiff competition from Didi Chuxing, a different ride-hailing competitor active in the area. China Life, which backed Uber China a few months ago, has invested US$600m into Didi Chuxing last weekend, showing they are not willing to put all of their eggs in the Uber basket just yet.
It is interesting to note how major investors are betting on multiple horses in the same race. Not that there is anything wrong with this approach, though, as there are no guarantees for success in life.
China Life is a perfect example of this mindset, as they back both Uber China and Didi Chuxing. Both companies are focusing their attention on ride-sharing and are direct competitors in a way.The US$600m invested by China Life into Didi Chuxing is quite significant, though, as it pushes the company’s latest funding round to US$3.5bn. Keeping in mind how this round is not closed yet, the total value may go up even more. Additionally, the taxi-hailing company is now valued at nearly US$25bn. Moreover, Didi received a US$1bn investment from Apple a month ago, which took the world by surprise.
Playing the double-strategy of backing Uber China and Didi Chuxing is a smart decision by China Life. It is evident the insurance firm wants to have a say in the future of ride-hailing solutions, which are becoming increasingly popular all over the world. Didi claims 14 million daily rides, which is quite impressive for a company that has only been around for four years.
It is interesting to note Didi claims they have over 300 million users of all of their services. Albeit taxi-hailing is the main source of revenue for the company, they also offer chauffeur, bus, and other driving services. Keeping in mind how they work together with 15 million car owners, it is not surprising an insurance firm has taken an interest in this company.
But things get even more attractive, as China Life is not the only insurance company to invest in Didi Chuxing. The ride-hailing service had aligned itself with
Ping An when they invested US$2bn last summer. Ping An is also making waves in the world of blockchain technology as of late, ever since they became part of the R3 consortium.Source: TechCrunch
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