The ride-hailing service is now a public company. Will it acquire DiDi .com?
Didi Chuxing’s recent debut at NYSE (NYSE: DIDI) reminds me of the great move it made in 2016 to swallow up Uber in China. Now that it has landed in America, will it go one step further and acquire the American-owned domain Didi .com?
Since its founding in 2012, the ride-hailing startup has changed its name several times — first as Didi Dache, then Didi Kuaidi, and now Didi Chuxing (滴滴出行). Nevertheless, “Didi” has remained as the brand and it can be found at DidiGlobal.com.
On June 30, Didi listed on NYSE with a valuation of $68 billion. So, will Didi upgrade to Didi .com? Let’s examine three things: need, affordability, and availability.
Need. It’s obvious that they have the need because brand-matching is the norm. Many top Chinese companies follow this rule, such as Alibaba at Alibaba.com, Baidu at Baidu.com, and Suning at Suning.com. So, it’s just natural that Didi should be found at Didi .com.
Affordability. Didi raised $4.4 billion at the IPO, so it can pay almost any price to acquire the domain it wants. For your reference, Tesla shelled out $11 million in 2016 to acquire its brand-matching domain Tesla.com.
Availability. According to Wayback Machine records, Didi .com was used by Digital Image Design Incorporated from 1998 to 2020. In November 2020, the company moved to Didi.co, and Didi .com forwards visitors to the new domain. This move suggests that the domain is available for acquisition.
So, my answer is YES.
Depends if they really care. It is app based so my guess is no.
Does it apply to other app makers such as Uber, Facebook, and Twitter?
Yes, if they don’t care they won’t buy. Doesn’t matter how big the company is.
Of the three you mention only Uber is app based. The domain is not very important for this type of company.
Hello Kassey,
Our AFFIRMATIVE vote is a resounding YES. JAS 7/9/2021
Kassey your Header language above “ go Short “ is an
Institutional Money attention Grabber, Nice Targeting ! JAS 7/9/2021
Gratefully and Respectfully, Jeff Schneider
(Contact Group). METAL TIGER
Former : ( Rockefeller I.B.E.C. Strategic Marketing Intelligence, Analyst/Strategist (Senior/Lead )
( Licensed C.B.O.E. Hedge Strategist)
Domain Master ( UseBiz.com ) / ( USeBiz.com)
Hello again Kassey,
By the way, the original (.com EPA) = DidiGlobal.com is an inferior Targeting Strategy, along with wasting Time and space. You are right on Target, Kassey
JAS 7/9/2021
Thanks Jeff, but I had no intention to attract institutional money.
Yeah, Uber, Lyft, Grab, and Hippo should have saved their money. Uberglobal.com, Lyftglobal.com…HippoGlobal.com… smh
Agreed Alan. Prefix such as “On” as in OnCarrot.com is not bad either?
“Oregon company pays $600,000 for Carrot.com” (https://domainnamewire.com/2019/04/04/carrot-com-domain/)
Didi.com is very good name
1M ?
Elon paid 11 for Tesla.com, Snapchat 5 for Snap.com, FB.com was 8.5. (All smaller companies at the time.) Is there a Didi discount coupon code I am unaware of?
But what does it matter if they just don’t want it?
Hello MARCO,
If they don’t want it , They are in Big Trouble. JAS. 7/9/2021
Not a problem here. I know the owner well, a professor who’s spent his life on Wall St. and trusts market prices so much he’d rather just keep it (he likes it) than do a deal that far away.