The only company to ever beat Uber at its own game is reportedly looking to raise $2 billion to keep growing
- One of Uber's biggest competitors, Didi Chuxing, is looking to raise $2 billion in fresh funding, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
- In 2016, Uber sold it's Chinese operations to Didi after competing unsuccessfully for three years in the country.
- The new funding could value Didi at $62 billion, making it one of China's most valuable companies.
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Didi Chuxing, the Chinese ride-hailing service of which Uber owns a small fraction, is looking to raise up to $2 billion in fresh capital, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
The new funding would give Didi, still deeply unprofitable much like its Western competitors, a valuation of $62 billion, people familiar with the matter told the paper. That would make it among China's most-valuable companies.
Didi did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
In 2016, after competing unsuccessfully with Didi and losing $2 billion in the process, Uber agreed to sell its Chinese operations to Didi for in exchange for a roughly 15% stake in the company. On its most recently filed balance sheet with federal regulators, Uber said it valued those shares at $7.9 billion.
That's in contrast to competitors like Careem in the Middle East, which Uber agreed to purchase earlier this year in a $3.1 billion deal.
New funding could help Didi continue to compete with Uber in other markets beyond China. That's something Uber warned investors against during its IPO:
"Didi currently competes with us in certain countries in Latin America and in Australia, and in 2018 made significant investments to gain or maintain category position in certain markets in Latin America," Uber said in March filings.
Other investors including Softbank, Apple, Alibaba and Tencent have also backed Didi.
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- New York City has the green light to ban one of Uber and Lyft drivers' biggest side hustles, a court has ruled
- Uber and Lyft rides are down in New York City thanks to a minimum-wage rule that drove up prices. Analysts say it could have been even worse.