Five Reasons Apple Invested 1 Billion In Chinese Ride-Sharing Company Didi Chuxing

Apple made the surprise announcement Friday it is making a 1 billion investment in Chinese ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing, which is Uber's main competitor in China. It is unlikely Apple is interested in concerning itself with the ins and outs of the Chinese ride-hailing app market, but it has lots to gain from its big investment. It already commands almost 90 percent of the market in China, where Uber is losing 1 billion per year to simply retain its slice of the market. While Apple's 1 billion is Didi's single largest investment, the company's current funding round is oversubscribed, and it has the backing of the deep pockets of Alibaba and Tencent. That said, Didi was never going to turn down an investment from Apple, which brings with it so much more than a mere cash injection.