The only company to ever beat Uber at its own game is reportedly looking to raise $2 billion to keep growing

Advertisement
The only company to ever beat Uber at its own game is reportedly looking to raise $2 billion to keep growing

Did Chuxing app uber china

Zhang Peng/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Didi Chuxing is one of China's largest ride-hailing services

Advertisement

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.

Complimentary Tech Event
Transform talent with learning that works
Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

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.

Advertisement

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.

Read more: Careem's CEO ribbed Uber for making a rookie error in the Middle East. Now Uber's paying $3.1 billion to buy it.

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.

Advertisement

More Uber news:

Exclusive FREE Slide Deck: 40 Big Tech Predictions for 2019 by Business Insider Intelligence

{{}}