Uber Technologies has acquired HKTaxi, a mobile app that connects taxi drivers with riders in Hong Kong, to couple the firm’s local knowledge and engineering strength with its global R&D and operational capabilities, the ride-hailing giant announced on Friday.
The acquisition will not have any immediate impact on drivers or riders using the HKTaxi or the Uber app, it said in a statement. The move is expected to “accelerate the growth” of Hong Kong’s taxi industry and “underscores the city’s role as a regional startup and mobility hub”.
The deal allowed Hong Kong-based venture capital (VC) firm Beyond Ventures to completely exit from its investment in HKTaxi. This was the investor’s first successful full exit since its inception in 2017, Beyond Ventures said in a separate statement.
An investor in Chinese AI startup SenseTime and e-commerce platform YOHO, Beyond Ventures announced in July that it clocked an internal rate of return (IRR) of 58% for its maiden fund, less than four years after the launch of the vehicle with HK$1.2 billion (about $154 million) to invest in early-stage technology startups in the Asian financial hub.
Founded in 2013, HKTaxi operates a locally-built mobile app that connects taxi drivers with passengers, offering services like taxi booking, despatching, and paying taxi fares online.
The firm has so far recorded 1.2 million app downloads, bridging local passengers with over 45,000 taxi drivers as of now, shows its website.
“When people think of Uber they increasingly think of taxis, and this deal only emphasises the importance we place in the sector, in both Hong Kong and around the world,” said Estyn Chung, general manager of Uber Hong Kong, in the statement. Uber and HKTaxi will jointly drive Hong Kong’s “adoption of e-hailing”.