Hyperdrive
Didi Is Raising Money for Self-Driving Unit at $6 Billion Value
- Autonomous driving unit seeks funds at $6 billion value
- Startup is seeking to boost growth ahead of its planned IPO
The Didi Chuxing Inc. ride-hailing app in Shanghai.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing is raising new funds for its self-driving unit as China’s answer to Uber attempts to supercharge growth beyond its core businesses ahead of an anticipated initial public offering this year.
Didi Autonomous Driving is planning to raise as much as $500 million at a valuation of roughly $6 billion, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing private matters. The new proceeds will help Didi speed up mass production of driverless vehicles and invest in technologies like artificial intelligence chips, people said.