Is China’s Didi Kuaidi really planning to launch its taxi app in the US?

Barrels of ink have already been used up writing about the ongoing battle between Didi Kuaidi and Uber for control of China’s ridesharing app market. But now, reports suggest that Didi Kuaidi may be interested in opening up a second front. Where? On Uber’s home turf in the US.

Specifically, some Chinese media are reporting that Didi is quietly hiring to set up an R&D center in the US. The sources are sketchy at best, which is cause for some skepticism, but Didi has reportedly issued an official “no comment” statement. Typically, Chinese tech companies directly deny the crazy rumors that pop up about them in the press (if they comment on them at all), so the lack of a denial is interesting. It has led some China watchers to speculate that “Didi Kuaidi is likely to launch service in the US next year.”

Could that really be true? It’s hard to say. A “no comment” is a long way from “no,” but it’s also not a yes. Moreover, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done between setting up a basic R&D center and actually launching a service to compete with Uber (and Lyft, etc.) in the US.

There are other questions to be asked, too. Can Didi attract competitive talent that actually understands the US market, which is very different from China’s? With Uber already in 90+ cities in the US and Didi being nowhere near ready to launch in even one, is it too late to get into the US market? Are American consumers really going to be willing to trust a Chinese company with sensitive data like all the details of their movements (something many don’t even trust Uber with)?

As far as I can see, there’s only one thing Didi Kuaidi has going for it: money. Yes, Uber is one of the most valuable startups in the world, but Didi is backed by Alibaba and Tencent. If it really wants to take this war seriously and both of those companies are on board, they will be able to put quite a massive investment into the US market. Perhaps money is precisely what it would take to give Uber a run for their money there.

Personally, though, I remain skeptical. Perhaps Didi Kuaidi is putting feelers out in the US, but I would expect it to move into Southeast Asia – a region where it can try to out-compete Uber and out-spend local competitors – before it tries to take on Uber on its home turf.