Skip to main content

Apple invests in Chinese ride-sharing company

Apple has invested US$1 billion in Chinese ride-hailing service DiDi Chuxing, a move that Apple chief executive Tim Cook said would help the company better understand the critical Chinese market. According to Reuters, the move aligns Apple with Uber Technologies’ chief rival in China, as automakers and technology companies forge new alliances and make cross investments. General Motors, for example, recently bought autonomous driving technology company Cruise Automation and has also taken a stake in US ri
May 17, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
493 Apple has invested US$1 billion in Chinese ride-hailing service DiDi Chuxing, a move that Apple chief executive Tim Cook said would help the company better understand the critical Chinese market.

According to Reuters, the move aligns Apple with 8336 Uber Technologies’ chief rival in China, as automakers and technology companies forge new alliances and make cross investments. 948 General Motors, for example, recently bought autonomous driving technology company Cruise Automation and has also taken a stake in US ride-sharing company Lyft.

“We are making the investment for a number of strategic reasons, including a chance to learn more about certain segments of the China market,” Cook said in an interview with Reuters. “Of course, we believe it will deliver a strong return for our invested capital over time as well.”

The investment makes Apple a strategic investor in DiDi and gives it a stake in two growing technologies, the sharing economy and car technology.

Related Content

  • August 16, 2021
    Verra and Redflex: what happens now?
    Verra Mobility has bought Redflex; Mark Talbot, who used to run Redflex and is now Verra’s head of government solutions, explains what happens next
  • October 25, 2021
    What will MaaS look like in 2031?
    The next decade will see the humble trip planning app transformed by machine learning and AI, revolutionising the way we move around and interact with each other, says John Nuutinen of SkedGo
  • October 3, 2018
    Ford, Uber and Lyft to share data through SharedStreets
    Ford, Uber and Lyft will make data sets available on the SharedStreets platform in a bid to help cities and mobility companies manage congestion, cut greenhouse gases and reduce crashes. The commitment was announced at the second annual Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York. SharedStreets is funded by the Bloomberg Philanthropies consortium. Its aim is to make it easier for the private sector to work with cities around the world and utilise data to improve mobility. According to Ford, the partn
  • December 8, 2016
    Data handling important for autonomous vehicles
    Data handling is becoming an ever-greater part of transportation and never more so than with autonomous vehicles, as Andrew Bardin Williams hears from some big names.