Anti-Uber empire grows as Didi invests in Careem

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China’s top ride-hailing app, Didi Chuxing, today revealed that it has invested in Uber arch-rival Careem, which is focused on the Middle East and North Africa. The funding amount is not disclosed.

It’s the latest alliance in the growing anti-Uber empire, which since late 2015 has seen a variety of ride-hailing apps invest in each other and make agreements to integrate in some way in order to fend off Uber. The allied force now covers apps that span 1,000 cities – versus Uber’s almost 600 cities.

Didi, valued at an estimated US$50 billion, has previously invested in India’s Ola, Southeast Asia’s Grab, Brazil’s 99, and – just last week – Europe’s Taxify.

Didi and Dubai-based Careem describe their new union as a “strategic partnership” that will involve “technology exchange and co-development.”

Careem is also active in Pakistan, which Junaid Iqbal, the startup’s managing director, tells Tech in Asia is now its fastest-growing market.