The car-hailing space has led the on-demand economy boom. And Uber faces stiff competition in Asia from a group of taxi-hailing apps backed by Japanese telecom giant, SoftBank.
As recently as two weeks ago, Uber had actually raised 62% more than the three SoftBank-backed taxi apps (Didi Kuaidi, Ola, GrabTaxi) combined. Uber has built its war chest in part by courting corporate investors in India and China, including Baidu, China Life, and Times Internet (Times of India Group).
But things are moving fast on the funding front. In the last couple of weeks, there was a $200M investment by Coatue Management into GrabTaxi and a massive $2B private placement to Chinese Uber rival Didi Kuaidi. On the back of those deals, the three SoftBank-backed apps have now combined to raise $5.6 billion, or 2% more funding than Uber.
Still, Uber’s valuation currently stands at 177% higher than the aggregate private market value of the three rival apps.
The chart below compares Uber vs. the SoftBank-backed taxi hailing apps on valuation and total funding. Note: Didi Kuaidi’s financing includes funding raised by two separate car-hailing services — Kuaidi Dache and Didi Dache — before they merged to create Didi Kuaidi in February 2015.
Of course, this can all change very quickly. Uber is reportedly planning to raise an investment that could reach $1B from Chinese fund manager Hillhouse Capital. Interestingly, Hillhouse has previously invested in Asian taxi-hailing apps Kuaidi-Dache and GrabTaxi.
The chart below shows how Uber’s total funding stacks up against the plethora of all other international on-demand firms now in existence, not just car-hailing apps. In total, international on-demand firms have raised over $7.6B versus Uber’s $5.5B.
Related: Uber Has Raised Nearly As Much Funding As All Other US On-Demand Startups Combined
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