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Apple Invests in Chinese Uber Rival

Apple Inc. is investing $1 billion in Xiaoju Kuaizhi Inc.’s Didi Chuxing ride service operations, which competes against Uber Technologies Inc. in China.

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Apple Inc. is investing $1 billion in Xiaoju Kuaizhi Inc.’s Didi Chuxing ride service operations, which competes against Uber Technologies Inc. in China.

Didi was created in 2012 by the combination of separate apps backed by internet giants Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding. The company provides ride-hailing, car-sharing and vehicle test-drive services for 14 million registered drivers and 300 million users. Didi claims to control 99% of China’s taxi-hailing business and 87% of the country’s private ride- and car-sharing market.

The Apple investment is part of a $3 billion round of funding for Didi, which analysts estimate now is valued at more than $25 billion. Didi also has partnerships with several international ride-hailing companies, including Ola in India, Grab in southeast Asia and Lyft in the U.S.

Uber, which is the world’s largest ride-hailing company, aims to be 100 Chinese cities by year-end. 

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