DiDi Chuxing invests in Brazilian urban mobility startup

Chinese mobile transport platform giant DiDi Chuxing announced a massive investment in Brazilian startup 99, one of the leaders in urban transport apps in Brazil.

With the investment, which local media estimated at some $100 million, Didi will have a seat on 99's board. In addition to the financial investment, the Chinese company will offer 99 support and strategic advice on product development, technology, business planning and operations.

Currently operating in 550 cities in Brazil, 99 plans to expand further both in its home country and to other Latin American nations. In Brazil's largest markets, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, 99 has 10 million clients and 140,000 taxi drivers in its system.

Its app for private car services, 99Pop, is already operating in Sao Paulo and is expected to be expanded to other cities soon.

In addition to 99, Easy Taxi, Uber and Cabify also operate in the country.

Didi, the largest mobile transport platform in the world, offers services in China such as taxis, carpooling, private transport, buses and car rental. The company's investment in 99 is a move to share knowledge and experiences to expand their services.

"China and Latin America are the main emerging markets in the world, with great opportunities in the urban mobility industry. The partnership with 99 ... will allow Didi to start sharing its products and operating capacity, creating a structure for innovation, as foreseen by our leaders in the 2016 G20 Summit," said CEO Cheng Wei, Didi Chuxing's founder and CEO.

According to Cheng, the company hopes to help remodel the future of the world's transport systems while generating job opportunities.