Apple is investing $1 billion in Chinese ride-hailing app startup that rivals Uber in China, Didi Chuxing.
Building on its data mining and analysis capabilities, DiDi claims that it now completes over 11 million rides a day on its platform, serving close to 300 million users across over 400 Chinese cities with a diverse range of mobile technology-based transportation options. DiDi works with over 14 million Chinese car-owners and drivers, holding over 87% market share in private car-hailing and over 99% market share in taxi-hailing.
Cheng Wei, founder and CEO of DiDi, said, "The endorsement from Apple is an enormous encouragement and inspiration for our four-year-old company. DiDi will work hard with our drivers, riders and global partners, to make available to every citizen flexible and reliable mobility choices, and help cities solve transportation, environmental and employment challenges."
"DiDi exemplifies the innovation taking place in the iOS developer community in China," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "We are extremely impressed by the business they've built and their excellent leadership team, and we look forward to supporting them as they grow."
