Uber CEO confirms China fundraising plans
Travis Kalanick, founder and CEO of ride-hailing app Uber, has confirmed that the company has raised $1.2 billion for Uber China, a dedicated unit set up to address the local market.
Chinese search engine Baidu and other unnamed domestic investors have participated, Kalanick told Chinese media Sina Tech in an interview. The round has not closed.
The investment comes after Uber's major domestic competitor Didi Kuaidi - which was formed out of a merger between Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache in February - raised a record-breaking $2 billion round at a valuation of about $15 billion in July. This round has also yet to close.
China's taxi-booking space is dominated by Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache, which have expanded into car-pooling, car rental, designated driver services, as well as private car booking spaces, offering rides in Audi and Mercedes-Benz vehicles to high-end customers.
Uber also now provides a variety of services in China. In June the company said it would spend more than $1 billion this year on expansion in the country.
While Didi Kuaidi has formed alliance with Alibaba and Tencent, Baidu jumped into the ride-hailing apps market in December last year by investing in Uber and agreeing to help the firm expand in China.
Uber was launched in San Francisco in 2009 and has received at least eight rounds of funding across the seed, angel and institutional stages. Investors include Benchmark, Goldman Sachs, TPG Capital's growth equity division and Google Ventures. Its most recent fundraising was aimed at expanding in India and included a commitment from Tata Opportunities Fund.
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