Benzinga | Mar 29, 2021 10:53AM EDT

Didi's Self-Driving Unit Aims Fund Raise At $6B Valuation Ahead Of IPO

* SoftBank Group Corp (OTC: SFTBY) (OTC: SFTBF)-backed Chinese ride-hailing company, Didi Chuxing Technology Co's autonomous driving unit is planning to raise roughly $500 million at a $6 billion valuation, Bloomberg reports.

* The fundraise will help accelerate mass production of driverless vehicles and invest in artificial intelligence chips before Didi goes public by the next quarter targeting a valuation of over $62 billion.

* The listing plans of the Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE: UBER) rival got preponed from late 2021, thanks to the vaccine-led recovery from the pandemic.

* The self-driving unit completed a $300 million fundraising round last month. The current fundraising plans are at early stages and could change.

* The company began testing autonomous vehicles in 2016 before spinning off the business in 2019, targeting over one million autonomous taxis by 2030.

* Didi Freight, another spinoff that offering on-demand logistics services, is contemplating another fundraising round shortly after raising $1.5 billion at a post-money valuation of $3 billion. The unit competes with Tencent Holdings Ltd (OTC: TCEHY)-backed Full Truck Alliance.

* Price action: SFTBY shares are trading lower by 0.46% at $41.93 on the last check Monday.