Didi Kuaidi in talks to partner with China’s biggest O2O food startup

Could a partnership between two of China’s biggest independent O2O players be in the making? That’s looking more likely after a Didi Kuaidi official confirmed to the Chinese press that Didi has been in touch with food delivery startup Ele.me about business cooperation. The statement came in response to rumors that Didi was actually planning an investment in Ele.me, which Didi has denied.

It’s not clear what sort of collaborations the two might be planning, but the news of a potential partnership makes sense. Ele.me and Didi Kuaidi share a prominent backer in Tencent, which has previously invested in both companies. Moreover, the potentially overlapping areas of business for a food delivery startup and a human delivery startup are obvious. One direction they could take it: copying Uber’s UberEats, a food delivery program leveraging the Uber fleet of drivers. Uber offers that service in several cities across the world, but it’s not yet available in China, and Didi may be aiming to enlist the help of El.me to beat Uber to the food delivery market.

Whatever Didi and Ele.me decide to do, both companies will have plenty of money to burn. Just a few weeks ago, Ele.me closed a massive US$630 million investment round, and of course Didi has raised US$3 billion over the summer.