Apple invests $1 billion in Chinese Uber rival, Didi


Late Thursday, Apple announced that it has invested $1 billion in Chinese ride-hailing startup Didi Chuxing, an unusual investment for the technology giant. Analysts suggested that Apple is trying to make up for declining iPhone sales in China, providing a market for its rumored self-driving car project, or trying to boost Apple Pay in China, but CEO Tim Cook said simply that Didi demonstrates the innovation coming out of iOS developers in China. He said Apple is "extremely impressed by the business they've built and their excellent leadership team, and we look forward to supporting them as they grow." It's Apple's largest investment since purchasing Beats Electronics for $3 billion in 2014.
Didi is larger than its main competitor, UberChina, but both ride-hailing companies are aggressively expanding in China. Didi, currently operating in 400 Chinese cities, is valued at more than $25 billion, and while Apple's investment is the largest to date, other investors include Chinese internet giants Alibaba and Tencent. Apple can afford the deal, certainly: On March 26, Apple reported having $233 billion in cash and marketable securities.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Groypers: the alt-right group pulled into the foreground
The Explainer The network is led by alt-right activist Nick Fuentes
-
10 concert tours to see this upcoming fall
The Week Recommends Concert tour season isn't over. Check out these headliners.
-
How to put student loan payments on pause
The Explainer If you are starting to worry about missing payments, deferment and forbearance can help
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year