As countries around the world prepare to vaccinate people against the coronavirus, tech companies are rushing to show their willingness to help fight the deadly virus. Chinese leader Didi Chuxing is pledging a $ 10 million fund to support COVID-19 vaccination efforts in 13 markets outside of its home country of China, the company said Friday.
The multipurpose fund will be used to reduce fares for passengers who go to vaccination appointments and frontline health workers who go to vaccination sites. It will also sponsor future measures based on the local needs of a market, Didi said, adding that it will continue to work with respective governments.
It is still unclear how the company plans to allocate funds to dozens of markets, which are Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Australia, Japan, Russia and New Zealand.
"We will share more details locally as vaccinations are introduced and our local support plans are finalized," a company spokesperson said.
Like other tech companies, Didi quickly responded to the COVID-19 outbreak by offering relief measures. It said it has so far funded more than six million free or discounted rides and meals for frontline healthcare workers and distributed more than six million sanitation masks and kits to driver and courier partners in its international markets.
In China, the transportation company has made similar efforts, including financial assistance such as insurance plans for drivers with confirmed cases or those in quarantine.
"The vaccination support initiative is a crucial step in our local recovery effort around the world," said Jean Liu, president of Didi.
"The incredible commitment and agility of the Didi teams, together with a safety system built for complex mobility scenarios, plays a fundamental role in protecting our people and ensuring essential services in these difficult times. We will continue to support our partners and communities to get our cities moving. "
To ensure the safety of passengers and drivers, the company launched mask-sensing technology for car cameras across China and some of its overseas markets last year.
The SoftBank-backed company took a hit when it temporarily suspended its popular and lucrative carpooling service following two passenger accidents in 2018. The startup remains one of China's most valuable private tech companies, and rumors have been circulating for several years. according to which it is planning a first public offering, which the company denied.
In all, Didi has gathered over 550 million users across Asia Pacific, Latin America
America and Russia offering taxi, private car, rideshare, bus, bicycle and e-bike services and enables over 10 billion passenger journeys per year in recent times. Outside of China, it has over 20 million users and 2.8 million drivers and couriers.
The company has a fledgling autonomous driving arm backed by SoftBank and is among a group of emerging Chinese artificial intelligence companies that aggressively develop and test autonomous vehicles. It is also working with Chinese electric car giant BYD to co-design a bespoke model for ride-hailing.
The story was updated with more details on the fund on January 22, 2021.
