China-based ride hailing service Didi Kuaidi confirmed a $3bn round today backed by investors including e-commerce group Alibaba, insurance firm Ping An and internet services company Tencent.
Ping An co-led the round with sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp (CIC) and private equity fund Capital International Private Equity Fund through its Ping An Ventures unit. The round, the largest ever recorded by a private company, also featured existing backers Temasek and Coatue Management.
Formed in February this year by a merger between taxi hailing app developers Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache, Didi Kuaidi remains the market leader in China. Its service covers 80 Chinese cities, in contrast to its nearest competitor Uber China, currently present in 15.
Didi Kuaidi raised an initial $2bn in July 2015 before topping it up with an additional $1bn due to “overwhelming interest from new and existing investors,” according to a statement, as Uber China continued to accumulate capital for a round that stands at $1.2bn as of this week.
The round increased Didi Kuaidi’s cash chest to more than $4bn, it said. The cash will fund ongoing growth efforts in its home country, where Uber China is preparing to expand into 100 new cities over the next year.
Taking into account money raised both pre and post-merger, Didi Kuaidi has now raised about $4.5bn in total, including $142m from instant messaging service Sina Weibo in May.
Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache’s investors pre-merger included Alibaba, Tencent, online car rental agency eHi, telecommunications company SoftBank, Matrix Partners, New Horizon Fund, DST Global and Citic PE.