Didi Kuaidi joined Alibaba and Tencent in a funding round aimed at supporting U.S. ride-sharing firm Lyft Inc., Uber's rival. (Photo : Reuters)
Leading Chinese car-hailing service Didi Kuaidi joined Asia’s two largest Internet companies, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., in investing in U.S. ride-sharing service provider Lyft Inc. during the second quarter, Bloomberg reported, citing sources privy to the investment deal.
According to the sources, the three Chinese companies participated in the funding round between March and June, in a deal that was held privately.
The sources said that the joint investment was aimed at financing Didi Kuaidi's expansion abroad and subsidizing its operation in the U.S. against Uber.
The report added that Alibaba has invested about $25 million as one of the two largest Internet companies that support Didi Kuaidi, the car-hailing service formed in February as an offshoot of two competing apps, Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache.
Uber and Didi Kuaidi are engaged in a stiff competition in China, jostling for market share and enticing drivers and passengers with incentives and subsidies.
The companies are reportedly close to raising a combined fund amounting to more than $4 billion from investors in their latest fundraising rounds, the report said.
According to the report, Alibaba was part of a consortium that supported San Francisco-based Lyft, whose cars in the U.S. have the distinctive pink mustaches on their front.
Among Lyft's investors include Carl Icahn and the company was valued in a March fundraising round at $2.5 billion.
Uber, on the other hand, was reportedly valued at more than $40 billion in its last round, the report added.
The three companies' joint investment was first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, Sept. 10.
Both Alibaba and Didi Kuaidi refused to comment when asked about the deal, while Tencent did not respond to emails sent for comment.
Lyft spokeswoman Paige Thelen also did not give any comment on the deal.
