滴滴出行成为中国估值最高的新创企业

据消息源透露，中国领先的打车公司滴滴出行即将从日本软银集团等投资者处获得最高达60亿美元的资本注入，公司的估值超过了500亿美元。

两位熟知内情的人表示，本轮募资中的其他投资者还包括私人股本公司银湖、中国的招商银行和交通银行。

因为并未获得公开发言的授权，他们谢绝透露身份。滴滴出行也拒绝对此做出评论。

上一次对滴滴的估值是在去年8月，在与Uber中国旷日持久的竞争后，滴滴决定将其收购，当时公司的估值是340亿美元。这份协议让Uber拥有了五分之一滴滴的股份。

滴滴500亿美元的估值也让他们超过了中国智能手机厂商小米。后者在2014年的融资后估值460亿美元，之后一直是中国估值最高的新创企业。

中国估值最高的私人互联网金融公司是蚂蚁金服，它隶属于阿里巴巴集团控股，估值超过600亿美元。

知情人表示，滴滴最新的融资将有部分用于海外扩张。滴滴在国际上已经有几家合作伙伴，专注于智能驾驶领域，例如利用人工智能，并提供了类似的打车服务。

由于国内监管政策的变化影响滴滴的本地服务，公司如今开始加速在海外的活动。滴滴曾表示，去年10月发布的草案会大幅减少有资格在大城市经营的司机，并让用户的打车费用翻倍。

在去年Uber退出中国市场后，滴滴就试图在拉丁美洲扩张，今年1月，公司带头在巴西的打车服务领域投资了1亿美元。

上个月，滴滴在美国的硅谷正式开设了研究人工智能相关驾驶技术的实验室。他们之前曾与Lyft、TripAdvisor和Udacity等美国科技公司签订了一系列战略协议。（财富中文网）

译者：严匡正

Didi Chuxing, China's top ride-hailing firm, is set to raise up to $6 billion with a fresh injection of capital from investors including Softbank Group (sftby, -1.10%), valuing the company at over $50 billion, sources said.

Other investors in the fund raising round include private equity firm Silver Lake Partners, China Merchants Bank and Bank of Communications, two people familiar with the matter said.

They declined to be identified because they are not authorized to speak publicly. Didi Chuxing declined to comment.

The last valuation for Didi was $34 billion in August when it agreed to acquire Uber Technology's China business following a drawn-out rivalry between the two firms. The deal gave Uber a one-fifth stake in Didi.

At $50 billion, Didi's valuation is propelled well above that of Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, which held the title of China's most valuable startup after a 2014 funding round put it at $46 billion.

Ant Financial, China's most valuable private internet finance firm and an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding (baba, -0.49%), is valued upwards of $60 billion.

The people said that part of the latest capital investment in Didi would be used for international expansion. Didi has sealed several overseas partnerships, focusing on intelligent driving, such as making use of artificial intelligence, as well as similar ride-hailing services.

The firm is ramping up overseas activity as regulatory changes are set to take a toll on their local service. Draft rules released in October would slash the number of eligible drivers and double fares for users in major cities, the company has said.

Since Uber exited the Chinese market last year, Didi has sought to expand in Latin America, leading a $100 million investment in Brazilian ride-hailing service 99 in January.

Last month it officially opened a lab researching artificial intelligence-related driving technologies in Silicon Valley in the United States. The company has previously entered a range of strategic agreements with U.S. tech firms including Lyft, TripAdvisor (trip, +0.71%), and Udacity.