Apple Invests $1 Billion In Uber's Chinese Rival Didi (bloomberg.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Apple Inc. invested $1 billion in Chinese ride-sharing service Didi, making one of its biggest bets on software and services and dealing a blow to Uber Technologies Inc.'s ambitions in the country. The iPhone maker will help Uber's largest rival build up a ride-sharing platform that handles more than 11 million rides a day and serves about 300 million users across China, Didi said in a statement on Friday. Executive Officer Tim Cook has highlighted higher-margin services as a growth area and suggested he would use some of its $200 billion-plus cash hoard for investments. The investment in one of China's largest online companies will allow Apple to forge alliances in its single largest market outside of the United States. Didi, incorporated as Xiaoju Kuaizhi Inc., is in the process of raising more than $2 billion at a valuation of about $25 billion, people familiar with the matter have said. It operates in 400 Chinese cities and works with more than 14 million Chinese car owners. The company is Uber's most potent rival and has formed an international coalition with Lyft Inc. in the U.S., India's Ola and Southeast Asia's Grab to fight the globally expanding San Francisco firm. Apple is hoping to reinvigorate lackluster iPhone sales in China with its $1 billion investment in Didi. The last big investment the company made was when it acquired Beats for $3 billion in 2014.

Comments

So that's where the iCars are headed...

[JeffreyBPetersen]

Now to see whether this is the beginning of tossing around a lot more cash as a means of getting cozier with China again.

Re:What about infringement?

[Anonymous Coward]

Are US 'patents' on business model or methodologies accepted anywhere else in world? There doesn't seem to be any rational other than rent seeking for allowing it. Impressive the way the population of the US have been convinced that imaginary property rights can extend so far.

Good Thing We Gave Them Tax Breaks

[twmcneil]

This is why I grind my teeth anytime someone says we can't tax the corporations or else they'll go somewhere else. They took their jobs to China. Now they take their investment dollars there too. Tax the shit out of them I say.