Didi Chuxing – the Chinese ride-hailing company formerly known as Didi Kuaidi – announced today that it has received US$1 billion from Apple, the largest single investment the company has ever received.
Apple’s investment comes after a rocky few months in China, where it reported a large drop in phone sales and saw two of its web stores censored by the government.
CEO Tim Cook earlier announced plans to visit the People’s Republic later this month. Initially, this trip was thought to be tied to Apple’s sales and the censorship, but we wouldn’t be surprised if he swings by Didi’s offices as well.
Lots of potential
It is unclear exactly what this new partnership will mean for Didi and Apple. The app’s previous investors, such as Tencent and Alibaba, provided obvious advantages for payment systems, social media, and other web services.
In a statement released this morning, Tim Cook said that Didi “exemplifies the innovation taking place in the iOS developer community in China,” and that the folks at Apple “look forward to supporting them [Didi] as they grow.” What this means (ride hailing buttons built into iOS? Sharing user data? Use of Apple Maps for Didi drivers abroad?) is still speculative.
Didi Kuaidi’s app pictured today.
This isn’t Apple’s first foray into the world of transportation. Rumors of an Apple-affiliated electric car have been commonplace in tech circles for years, and recent news suggests that it may be close to release.
Didi Chuxing is still in the midst of its current fundraising round. We’ll see who else joins in as the round progresses, but one thing is clear – the anti-Uber alliance has some powerful players on its side.
Editing by Terence Lee
(And yes, we’re serious about ethics and transparency. More information here.)
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