NEWS
NEWS
NEWS
Chinese taxi hailing app KuaiDi Dache takes $600M Series D from Alibaba, Softbank
Chinese taxi-hailing app KuaiDi Dache (Travice Inc.) has raised $600 million Series D in a round that included Asian tech giants SoftBank Internet and Media Inc., and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
Launched in 2012, KuaiDi Dache is among the most popular taxi-hailing apps in China, and like its main competitor Didi Dache Co. Ltd. focuses on regulated, licensed cabs, unlike Uber Inc.’s services in the Middle Kingdom.
KuaiDi Dache’s app combines integrated mapping and third party payment technology, and has access to over 1 million taxis in more than 300 cities in mainland China and Hong Kong. The company offers both standard vehicles, and in a service named “Kuaidi One” luxury cars in direct competition to Uber Black.
KuaiDi Dache CEO said in a statement that “I am extremely excited to have investors such as SoftBank, Alibaba and Tiger Global participate in this round of financing. Their investment and expertise will enable us to greatly broaden our market reach. We are looking forward to working together to further expand our services, and to continue to positively impact city transportations systems.”
Based in Hangzhou, KuaiDi Dache has raised at least $725 million including the new round (details of Series A funding are not available) and previous investors include New Horizon Capital and Matrix Partners.
Main competitor Didi Dache is also well financed, with a Series D round in December raising $700 million from Temasek Holding Ltd., Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Russia’s DST Global.
The company said the latest financing would be used to further expand its services in China.
Image credit: KuaiDi Dache
Since you’re here …
… We’d like to tell you about our mission and how you can help us fulfill it. SiliconANGLE Media Inc.’s business model is based on the intrinsic value of the content, not advertising. Unlike many online publications, we don’t have a paywall or run banner advertising, because we want to keep our journalism open, without influence or the need to chase traffic.The journalism, reporting and commentary on SiliconANGLE — along with live, unscripted video from our Silicon Valley studio and globe-trotting video teams at theCUBE — take a lot of hard work, time and money. Keeping the quality high requires the support of sponsors who are aligned with our vision of ad-free journalism content.
If you like the reporting, video interviews and other ad-free content here, please take a moment to check out a sample of the video content supported by our sponsors, tweet your support, and keep coming back to SiliconANGLE.
