Ride sharing apps that could compete with Uber for example, are one of the current interests of Apple. With sales of iPhones slowing, the company decided to diversify its investments and it will provide about $1 billion for the development of the Chinese-based Didi ride sharing app.
Didi materialized last year and it became China’s largest ride sharing app. Additional services provided by Didi include taxi and private car services and even test drives. Apple CEO Tim Cook said they are extremely impressed by the business Didi have built and their excellent leadership team, and that Apple looks forward to supporting them as they grow.
Currently, Didi provides more than 11 million rides a day to 300 million people across China in 400 cities with 14 million drivers. The company, which is valued at $26 billion, has now raised $3 billion thanks to Apple’s investment that will help it expand its business and stay ahead of Uber.
Uber is also raising money and investing millions of dollars to compete with Didi in the world’s most populous country. The San Francisco-based startup’s ride-sharing app aims to be in 100 Chinese cities by the end of 2016. Currently, Uber operates in 30 global markets contributing to $1 billion per year in profits.
