HONG KONG—Ride-hailing app Uber Technologies Inc. is
planning to invest over $1 billion in China this year, boosting its
bet on a market that has been difficult to crack for most U.S.
technology companies.
In a letter to investors, Uber Chief Executive Travis Kalanick
said China is a priority for Uber's global team and the company
believes it has captured close to half of the non-taxi ride-hailing
market in the country.
He also took a swipe at China's dominant taxi-hailing company,
Didi Kuaidi Joint Co. "Our competitor has cloned our core product
line and is attempting to transition from its legacy taxi business
to a similar P2P model," Mr. Kalanick wrote. Didi Kuaidi couldn't
be reached immediately for comment.
P2P stands for peer-to-peer, a business model that allows
private drivers to offer rides to customers rather than relying on
licensed taxi drivers.
UberChina, the company's China unit, is set to launch a formal
fundraising process on June 22, Mr. Kalanick said in the letter. He
noted that Uber in China has reached commercial partnerships and
received strategic investments of over $500 million from Chinese
technology, financial services, and insurance companies.
In December, Uber and Chinese search engine Baidu Inc. announced
a strategic tie-up that included an investment by Baidu into
Uber.
The investor letter was first reported by the Financial
Times.
Write to Rick Carew at rick.carew@wsj.com
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