1. Didi, China’s Uber, Raises $ 5.5 Billion   WSJ

Chinese ride-hailing startup Didi Chuxing has raised $ 5.5 billion in a new funding round. The cash infusion brings the company’s valuation to more than $50 billion.

It will help fuel its global expansion and push into artificial intelligence.

The new funding round includes investments from Menlo park, CA-based Silver lake Parters, Tokyo-based Japanese telecom and tech giant SoftBank Corp., Shenzhen-based China Merchants Bank Co. and China’s Bank of Communication Co.

This funding round makes Didi more valuable than Chinese consumer electronics company Xiaomi Corp., whose valuation was $46 billion after a funding round in December 2014.

Didi’s larger rival Uber unveiled ambitious plans on Tuesday to test flying cars within three years in the hopes of lowering commute times and transportation costs.

2. Didi seeks up to $6 bn to expand beyond China’s borders   FT

Didi Chuxing is poised to raise $5bn-$6bn from investors, an infusion of cash that China’s ride-hailing group will use to expand its transportation services beyond the country’s borders.

The investment will value the company at $50 bn, which makes Didi the world’s second most valuable private tech start-up after Uber.

The deal will mark an acceleration of the fundraising bonanza in the ride-hailing tech sector, which has set records for funds raised, partly because ride-hailing companies burn through so much cash.

Investors in the latest round include tech fund Silver Lake Kraftwerk, Japanese tech group SoftBank and China Merchants Bank. New investors will not have traditional rights due to a proxy arrangement that allows Didi’s management to retain voting control.

The funds will bolster Didi at a time when it is facing regulatory pressure in China’s biggest cities, which have cracked down on out-of-town drivers that work for the service.

Didi has made investments in San Francisco-based Lyft, Grab in Southeast Asia and Ola in India.

3.China’s Didi Said Near Deal to Become Most Valuable Asia Startup   Bloomberg

• Ride-hailing service plans to raise at least $5 billion
• Didi said to raise funds for automated driving expansion

Ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing is near an agreement to raise at least $5 billion in a deal that would make it the most valuable startup in China.

Didi’s investors include SoftBank Group Corp., Silver Lake Kraftwerk, China Merchants Bank Co. and an arm of Bank of Communication Co..

The deal is aimed at giving Beijing-based Didi sufficient capital to pursue an ambitious agenda in China and beyond.

While the four-year-old start-up has so far focused on ride-hailing services in the domestic market, it’s looking to expand into more countries and invest in technologies from autonomous driving to artificial intelligence.

Didi wants to take advantage of data on 300 million users across some 400 cities.

Didi opened an artificial intelligence lab in Mountain View, California last month, called Didi Labs.