What attracts Jerry Yang, Yahoo's co-founder, to join Didi Kuaidi, the competitor of Uber in China?

Yesterday, the co-found of Yahoo, Jerry Yang is announced to join the Didi Kuaidi as its senior adviser on the board of directors. What matters Jerry to join Didi which was established in 2012 and now realized twice valuation as Uber China and has struggled Uber to win in the China market? Several factors might explain Didi's advantages over Uber China.

- Didi gained way more capital than that of Uber. Didi got $3 billion in series E with a $16 billion valuation, compared with Uber China's $1.2 billion financing with $7.6 billion valuation. The on-demand vehicle service is still experiencing the capital burning period without figuring out sustainable profit model. The more capital it gains, the better competitive advantage the player would build.

- Didi has Tencent's backup and is able to leverage its power in eco-system. Tencent which owns Wechat integrated Didi to Wechat so that the users could pay Didi via Wechat finance system.  On contrary, Uber is blocked by Wechar recently with the clear intention to disconnect Wechat with Uber.

- Didi has strong management team.  For example, Chengwei, founder of Didi, is noted for inspiring vision and management skill, and Liu Qing, CEO of Didi, the daughter of Liu Chuanzhi who is the founder of Lenovo, was one of the most successful managing director in Goldman Sachs China. The management team are not only capable, but also powerful in China business world, and have strong relationship with China government, which is hardly be surpassed by Uber China.



Reference:
http://qz.com/568204/yahoo-co-founder-jerry-yang-joins-the-family-of-supporters-backing-didi-kuaidi/