Chinese ride-hailing platform T3 is close to securing RMB 5 billion ($775 million) in a funding round led by state-owned financial conglomerate Citic Group, Chinese media LatePost (in Chinese) reported Thursday, citing three unnamed sources.
Why it matters: Didi’s rivals, especially those funded by state-owned enterprises, have received a new wave of investment since the nation’s leading ride-hailer was put under a cybersecurity review in July.
Details: Two sources told LatePost that investment firms are “very enthusiastic” about this new opportunity in China’s ride-hailing market. “Firms have placed investment biddings of more than ten billion yuan,” the sources told LatePost.
- Headquartered in the eastern city of Nanjing, T3 was launched in July 2019 with backing from state-owned automakers FAW, Dongfeng, and Changan, as well as tech giants Alibaba and Tencent.
- In August, T3 completed, on average, more than 1.2 million trips per day, a 70% increase from December, the report said. T3 still lags far behind dominant player Didi, which averaged 20 million trips in the same month.
- A spokesperson for T3 declined to comment on the report when contacted by TechNode on Friday and said the news should be “subject to the company’s official announcement.”
Context: Cao Cao Mobility, the ride-hailing unit of Chinese private automaker Geely, raised RMB 3.8 billion from investors led by a group of state-owned enterprises in early September.
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