China’s Didi Chuxing to raise up to $6bn at a $50bn valuation

Chinese ride-hailing giant, Didi Chuxing is raising between $5 and $6 billion in a funding round that would value the company at around $50 billion, according to various reports.

The fresh capital infusion is expected to come from investors including SoftBank Group, Silver Lake and China Merchant Bank. Bloomberg originally reported the raise, rumors of which first began circulating last month.

At $50 billion, Didi’s valuation is propelled well above that of Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, which held the title of China’s most valuable startup after a 2014 funding round put it at $46 billion. Also, this would make Didi the tech industry’s second highest valued startup behind only Uber.

The latest mega-round would give the company more firepower to boost its presence in China and beyond. According to sources, part of the latest capital investment would be used for international expansion. Didi has sealed several overseas partnerships, focusing on intelligent driving, such as making use of artificial intelligence, as well as similar ride-hailing services.

Apparently, the firm has also been ramping up overseas activity as regulatory changes are set to take a toll on their local service. Draft rules released in October would slash the number of eligible drivers and double fares for users in major cities, the company has said.

After Uber's exit from China, Didi has sought to expand in Latin America, leading a $100 million investment in Brazilian ride-hailing service 99 in January. Last month it officially opened a lab researching artificial intelligence-related driving technologies in Silicon Valley in the US.