SoftBank, the giant telecom company, is venturing out into the world of robotics and transportation services. DealStreet Asia said that SoftBank is trying to transform itself into the'Berkshire Hathaway of the tech industry' with the recent launch of a $100 billion technology fund. First SoftBank bought Aldebaran, the maker of the Nao and Romeo robots, and redirected them to produce the Pepper robot which has been sold in the thousands to businesses as a guide, information source and order taker, then bigger partnerships with Foxconn and Alibaba to manufacture and market Pepper and other consumer products, and most recently to establishing the $100 billion technology fund. Recognizing that the telecom services market has matured, SoftBank is putting their money where they can to participate in the new worlds of robotics and transportation as a service. Didi, which already serves more than 400 million users across China, provides services including taxi hailing, private car-hailing, Hitch (social ride-sharing), DiDi Chauffeur, DiDi Bus, DiDi Test Drive, DiDi Car Rental and DiDi Enterprise Solutions to users in China via a smartphone application.

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.