China's taxi-hailing app gets big financing

Photo shows the logo of taxi-hailing app Kuaidi Dache. [Photo/IC]

HANGZHOU - E-commerce giant Alibaba's taxi-hailing app Kuaidi Dache has secured big financing as optimistic investors eagerly back a big name in the quickly growing service.

Kuaidi Dache has raised $600 million of funding from a recent round of financing, said CEO and chairman of the board Lyu Chuanwei on Thursday.

Investors include Softbank Group, Alibaba and Tiger Global Management.

He said the capital will be invested in technology upgrades and innovation.

Taxi-hailing apps such as Kuaidi Dache and Didi Dache, rolled out by Alibaba and Tencent respectively, are gaining popularity among users. By connecting passengers with drivers, the two firms account for almost 99 percent of taxi-hailing market with 154 million registered users in more than 300 Chinese cities.