Lyft, the company behind a ‘peer-to-peer ridesharing service’, and Didi Kuaidi, which is responsible for China’s leading two taxi-hailing apps, announced a strategic partnership to “make it easier for people to get reliable rides when they travel between the US and China”.
“With this partnership, we’ll be working together to enable people to use their Lyft app when they travel to China and get a ride wherever they are going. The same will be true for Didi’s users who travel to the US,” Lyft said in a blog post.
In 2014, nearly eight million people traveled between the two countries, a number that is expanding each year.
“Reflecting the specific dynamics of each market, we will have equally unique approaches as we continue to expand”, it added.
As part of the partnership, Didi invested $100 million in Lyft. This was made as part of a financing round led by Rakuten earlier this year that also included Carl Icahn, Alibaba and Tencent, where Lyft raised $530 million.
While Lyft plays runner-up to Uber in the US, with a presence in around 65 US cities, Didi Kuaidi has given Uber a run for its money in China.
Earlier this month it was reported that Uber was battling it out with Didi, raising $1.2 billion to grow in China and expand to 100 cities. Didi had raised $3 billion.
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