Uber China, the Chinese subsidiary of US-based ride sharing service Uber, confirmed today it has raised $1.2bn in funding, as reports circulated that China-based competitor Didi Kuaidi has itself secured $3bn.
The only disclosed investor in the Uber China round, confirmed by Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick to Sina Technology today, was diversified internet company Baidu. Baidu, which led the round, previously invested $600m in Uber in December 2014.
Uber China’s fundraising in effect marks the official coming out party for the unit, which its parent company has said will invest $1bn in 2015 to make up the ground on Didi Kuaidi, which held more than 95% of the market share as recently as last year.
The round, which is not yet closed, is being raised at an $8bn valuation.
Reports in late August stated Uber China had raised $1bn from investors including Baidu, insurance company China Life Insurance and financial services firm China Citic Bank,with insurer Ping An and Hillhouse Capital also named as possible backers.
Didi Kuaidi is meanwhile set to close a $3bn round raised at a $16.5bn valuation, Bloomberg reported today, citing people familiar with the matter.
The investors in the round have not been disclosed, but Bloomberg reported in June the company had closed $2bn at a $15bn post-money valuation from Ping An Ventures, the venture capital arm of Ping An, e-commerce firm Alibaba, internet portal Tencent, automotive manufacturer Beijing Automotive, Temasek, Coatue Management and Capital International Private Equity Funds.
Didi Kuaidi was formed by a merger between China’s two largest taxi hailing services, Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache, earlier this year. Taking into account funding closed both post-merger and individually prior to the deal, Didi Kuaidi had raised a total of about $1.5bn prior to the latest round.
The company’s existing investors include social media company Sina Weibo, telecommunications and internet firm SoftBank, Farallon Capital Management, Tiger Global Management, DST Global, GGV Capital, Citic Capital and GSR Ventures.