BEIJING, July 8 (UPI) -- Uber China's rival, Didi Kuaidi, has raised more than $2 billion in its competition with the U.S.-based company.
The company confirmed Wednesday that it raised the money during a funding round, bringing the company's valuation to a sum total of $15 billion. The news marks the first round of investing since the merger of former Chinese companies Didi Dache and Kauidi Dache.
The round will continue through the end of this month for additional input from investors. Didi Kuaidi did not release its full investor list, but mentioned companies such as Capital International Private Equity Fund, Alibaba and Coatue Management.
Didi Kuaidi will use the money to develop new services, improve its technology and data research and enhance its customers' experience.
Uber has also opened up a funding round and is looking to get $1 billion, producing a valuation of as much as $8 billion. The round marks the first time that the U.S.-based company has isolated its operations in a specific country in order to attract outside investors. An Uber spokeswoman said the company has seen great enthusiasm from investors regarding the funding round and the current valuation of the company.
Didi Kuaidi has dominated the regular taxi market and now faces a small but growing challenge from Uber in the ride-sharing category. Didi Kuaidid launched its ride-sharing service in June and already covers 148 cities and manages 600,000 ride requests a day. Uber handles a million rides, but does not provide regular taxi service.
