DiDi |
|---|
|
| Topic Navigation |
|---|
|
Official Site: DiDiGlobal.com
Wikipedia: DiDi Page Sections History Article Index |
History
The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's DiDi page on 15 June 2019, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Didi Chuxing Technology Co., (stylized DiDi, Chinese: 滴滴出行), formerly Didi Kuaidi (Chinese: 滴滴快的), is a global transportation company headquartered in Beijing. The company provides app-based transportation services, including taxi hailing, private car hailing, social ride-sharing and bike sharing; on-demand delivery services; and automobile services, including sales, leasing, financing, maintenance, fleet operation, electric vehicle charging and co-development of vehicles with automakers. In 2018, DiDi’s platform had 550 million users and tens of millions of drivers.
2012–2015: Founding of Didi Dache
In June 2012, following eight years, working in Alibaba’s sales and Alipay divisions, Cheng Wei founded Didi Dache (嘀嘀打车; meaning "Beep Beep Call a Taxi"; or Chinese: 滴滴打车; literally: "Didi Taxi Calling"), a taxi-hailing app, [through BeiJing XiaoJu Keji Co. (小桔科技)].
The application was the initial incarnation of Didi Chuxing's ride-hailing service, and consisted of an app for consumers to request taxis for immediate pick up. BeiJing XiaoJu Keji Co. developed the app. In November 2012, Tencent invested $15 million in the company.
2015: Merger of Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache
A study in December 2013 by Analysis International, estimated that at the time Didi Dache (backed by Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holdings Limited) held approximately 55% of the smartphone-based taxi-hailing market in China (about 150 million Chinese were estimated to use their smartphones to hail taxis). According to the same study, Kuaidi Dache, backed by Alibaba Group, held most of the remaining market share. Aggressive fundraising by the two companies resulted in Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache raising US$700 million and US$600 million from private investors, respectively, to sustain their growth in the world's largest transport market. In February 2015 the companies merged to form Didi Kuaidi.
In May 2015, Didi Kuaidi spent aggressively to compete with other startups including Yidao Yongche (Chinese: 易到用车) and Uber (of which Baidu was an investor). The company also added other features to complement its basic taxi-calling function such as new premium vehicle services, functions for carpool and designated driver transportation modes and enhanced accessibility functions for passengers with disabilities. In July 2015, Didi Kuaidi completed a US$2 billion fundraising round, bringing the company's cash reserves to over US$3.5 billion; the same month, Didi Kuaidi was reported to get 80.2%market share in car hire services. Didi Kuaidi’s existing stakeholders, including Alibaba, Tencent, Temasek Holdings (Private) Ltd and Coatue Management, participated in the round, alongside new investors including, Capital International Private Equity Fund and Ping An Ventures, part of Ping An Insurance Group Co of China Ltd. The July 2015 fundraise is ranked as the world's largest single fundraising round by any private company, as well as the largest fundraising round for a Chinese mobile internet company at that time. By September 2015, Didi Kuaidi had obtained 80% market share in private car hailing services and 99% of the taxis.
By September 2015, the company had obtained 80% market share in private car hailing services and 99% of the taxi market share. The same month, Didi Kuaidi announced the launch of a rebrand process, including a plan to rename itself “Didi Chuxing”. Following the rebrand, in December 2015, taxi drivers concerned with the potential risk of ride-hailing applications cutting into their business protested against Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache, forcing both companies were forced to close their offices in the city of Luoyang.
Since 2015, DiDi has invested in Grab, Lyft, Ola, Uber, 99, Bolt and Careem. DiDi's acquisition of Uber's operation in China might cloud the partnership.
In June 2016, DiDi closed a US$4.5 billion fundraising round, with investors including Apple Inc., China Life Insurance Co., and the financial affiliate of online shopping firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. This fundraising round is the world's largest equity share fundraising round by any private company, updating the previous record set by DiDi. In addition, DiDi has secured a $2.5 billion syndicated loan arranged by China Merchants Bank Co. DiDi also raised roughly $300 million in debt from China Life.
| Date | Article | Author/Source |
|---|---|---|
| 13 May 2016 | Apple Pours $1 Billion Into Chinese Ride-Hailing Firm | Saibal Dasgupta, VOA News |