Didi secures funding of $500 million from Booking Holdings

Didi Chuxing and Booking Holdings Inc. announced in a joint statement that the US based travel company, Booking Holdings had invested $500 million in the Chinese ride-hailing service, Didi.

Didi plans to use this fund to expand its reach in markets outside of China. Valued at around $56 billion, the company will be launching its IPO in the near future.

Didi will also go ahead with integrating its service into Booking Holding's several platforms. Vice-versa Booking Holding will also take advantage of the large user base that Didi enjoys in China by providing its services through Didi's platform.

Didi has been investing in other ride-hailing platforms across the globe such as 99 in Brazil, Ola in India, Grab in Singapore as well as the US based Lyft. Didi wants to pose a serious challenge to Uber, which has established its operations globally.