Apple had invested $1bn in Didi Chuxing, China’s largest ride-hailing company, as the electronics giant looks to take on Uber.
Though Uber has tried to compete, Didi Chuxing, formerly known as Didi Kuaidi, dominates the ride-sharing industry in China.
Worth around $25bn, the company owns roughly 80% of the market in China.
Speaking to Reuters, Apple CEO Tim Cook said: “We are making the investment for a number of strategic reasons, including a chance to learn more about certain segments of the China market. Of course, we believe it will deliver a strong return for our invested capital over time as well.”
Didi Chuxing, said it represented the single largest investment in its history. The firm said it provided more than 11 million rides a day and claimed to have 87% of the Chinese market share.
The company is also backed by Chinese internet giants Tencent and Alibaba.
US rival Uber has been struggling to break into the Chinese market despite having won Chinese search engine Baidu as an investor.
In February Uber admitted it was losing more than $1bn a year in China, spending huge sums to subsidise discounted rides.