• About & Contact Us
  • SEO Community

Ulancer.com

    • Latest Stories

      What is new?

    • Meet the startups that pitched at EF’s 10th Demo Day in London

      September 27, 2018

    • Rally Rd., the app that lets you invest in classic cars, raises $7M Series A

      September 27, 2018

  • News
  • How to’s
  • Writing
  • Startups
  • Jobs
  • More
    • CMS Tools
    • APPS
    • Web Resources
      • Advertising
      • Firefox
      • Scripts
      • Tools

China’s Didi partners with SoftBank to launch taxi-hailing services in Japan

  • by Ulancer Contributor
  • In News
  • — 9 Feb, 2018


Uber’s tangled relationship with investors Didi and SoftBank is about to get more complicated after the duo inked an agreement to introduce taxi-hailing services that will compete directly with Uber in Japan.

Didi dominates the Chinese market — thanks in no small amount to its acquisition of second-placed Uber China — but this year it has expanded to Brazil via an acquisition and Taiwan via a franchise model, and also moved into bike-sharing and vehicle rentals. Didi has raised nearly $20 billion including a $4 billion round for global expansion which closed in December.

Right now, Didi and SoftBank say they are exploring opportunities. The two companies expect to launch a joint venture in Japan soon with plans to start pilot programs in Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka, Tokyo and other locations this year.

“Didi and SoftBank will diligently study local market conditions and policies, and will actively engage with industry practitioners, policymakers and other stakeholders, with the aim of building an open and inclusive platform that will be available to all of Japan’s taxi operators,” the Chinese firm said in an announcement.

The focus is on taxi drivers and taxi operator firms because peer-to-peer ride services are not legal in Japan. Indeed, Uber works with licensed chauffeurs and licensed taxi drivers in Japan, but the U.S. firm hasn’t cracked the market like it has in other countries.

Line, the messaging app company, has been the most successful new entrant with its Uber-like ride-hailing service, but Japanese taxi companies have adapted to the competition by bringing on-demand features their services, as the Financial Times recently reported.

The link between Uber and Didi brings another wrinkle to the complicated relationship between ride-sharing firms and their investors. SoftBank recently became Uber’s largest shareholder after it completed a drawn-out $7.7 billion investment in Uber, which included a $1.1 billion direct investment, and yet it has also backed Didi via its Delta Fund, a $5 billion sister vehicle to its massive $100 billion Vision Fund.

Then there’s Didi, which is also an Uber shareholder after picking up equity following its acquisition of Uber’s China business.

Complications and conflicts are nothing new. SoftBank has backed Uber rivals Ola and Grab, and it even considered a stake in Lyft. Now, however, those relationships are moving into new levels of complication when SoftBank and Didi directly create a new competitor in a market where Uber is present.


News source

You might also like...

  • Coinbase may have given away its own Bitcoin Cash surprise 21 Dec, 2017
  • Senator calls on Tinder to fix a security flaw that lets randos snoop through your dates 15 Feb, 2018
  • SpaceX could launch another Falcon Heavy in a few months (if the first one doesn’t blow up the launch pad) 5 Feb, 2018
  • Battery Ventures ups the ante, raising $1.25 billion across two new funds 6 Feb, 2018
  • Previous story ‘Pod Save America’ is coming to HBO
  • Next story Toyota invests $69M in Japanese Uber rival backed by the taxi industry
  • RSS
    Receive Freebies & Latest Posts Directly To Your Email - it's Free!

    • Recent Posts
    • Most Popular
    • Comments
    • 7hrCggmJ-AMMeet the startups that pitched at EF’s 10th Demo Day in LondonSeptember 27, 2018
    • oNo38LV2tQIRally Rd., the app that lets you invest in classic cars, raises $7M Series ASeptember 27, 2018
    • Nearby.gifBerkanan is a Bluetooth-powered group messaging appSeptember 27, 2018
    • 2122.pngVinay Gupta to talk about Mattereum at Disrupt BerlinSeptember 27, 2018
    • slider_wp_03Best collection of WordPress Slider PluginsJuly 5, 2010
    • Joomla template builderTop 8 Free Joomla Template GeneratorsJuly 19, 2011
    • 40+ Best WordPress Plugins for Comments40+ Best WordPress Plugins for CommentsJune 18, 2011
    • wptheme2A Collection of Free WordPress ThemesJuly 11, 2010
    • Jason Hall on:Circle launches its stablecoin
    • Jason Hall on:Circle launches its stablecoin
    • Bharat Sarkari Naukri on:Spotify acquires online music studio Soundtrap as it goes after creators
    • PMP on:Online learning platform Unacademy gets $21M Series C from Sequoia India, SAIF and Nexus
  • Staff Picks

    • slider_wp_03Best collection of WordPress Slider PluginsJuly 5, 2010
    • Joomla template builderTop 8 Free Joomla Template GeneratorsJuly 19, 2011
    • 40+ Best WordPress Plugins for Comments40+ Best WordPress Plugins for CommentsJune 18, 2011
  • Recent Posts

    • Meet the startups that pitched at EF’s 10th Demo Day in London
    • Rally Rd., the app that lets you invest in classic cars, raises $7M Series A
  • Search Our Blog

  • Ulancer is an insightful freelance blog and resource site. We provide intuitive articles that cover Photoshop tutorials, time-saving management tips covering a broad range of topics. We also have an active freelance community forum, there you can meet other freelancers that share your common interest, socialize and chat about freelance trending news as the occurred.

© Copyright 2013 Ulancer.