China's Didi Chuxing Raises $500M from Booking.com Parent for Expanding into New Markets

Chinese ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing has received a $500 million investment from US travel firm Booking Holdings Inc, owner of online brands such as Agoda.com, KAYAK and Priceline.com. 

Didi which is currently valued at $56 billion, is expected to launch an initial public offering next year. 

As part of the investment deal, the US-based travel company will allow users to book Didi cabs directly from Booking’s app as well as Didi users will also have access to Booking Holdings’ services through its app.

With this funding, the Chinese app-based company plans to enter into new markets outside of China. It has recently launched services in Mexico, Australia and Japan as well.

Didi Chuxing has also invested in other such cab-hailing companies in other markets, including Brazil's 99, India's Ola, Singapore's Grab and US-based Lyft.

Booking Holdings which is currently valued at over $97 billion, has users and partners in close to 220 countries, while a large majority of Didi's 550 million users are in China.

Apart from Didi, China’s ride-hailing market has also attracted new players over the past 2 years including Meituan Dianping, the country’s largest on-demand service provider, travel platform giant Ctrip, and carmaker Geely-backed Caocao Zhuanche.