Tech giant Apple has announced that it is betting $1 billion on Didi Chuxing, a China-based ride-hailing service which is the biggest threat to Uber in the country.

The billion dollar investment from Apple is Didi's largest funding received from a single source in the firm's four years of existence. The investment from Apple will increase Didi's valuation to $25 billion - still far from Uber's $62.5 billion valuation.

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Some market analysts agree that although Uber is in more countries globally, Didi has an advantage since it is native to China. China is considered by many analysts to be the most lucrative market for on-demand transportation.

The country has over 750 million potential users of ride-hailing services. That current figure is expected to increase as more Chinese people enter the middle class in the next decade.

Uber is currently ranked second in China's ride-hailing market, with Didi at the top spot. Despite being relegated to the second spot, five of Uber's top ten cities by ride volume are from China.

According to Reuters, markets analysts claim that Didi was operating in more than 400 cities in the country as of January and has able to capture 87 percent of the private ride-hailing market.

In a statement, Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook said, "Didi exemplifies that innovation taking place in the iOS developer community in China."

Apple also noted that Didi's ride-hailing platform handles at least 11 million daily rides from 300 million Chinese users.

Some market analysts see Apple's investment in Didi as part of the company's effort to increase its presence in China - its largest market outside of the United States. By investing in Didi, Apple is joining two Chinese tech giants, Alibaba, and Tencent. This alliance is deemed as good strategically for Apple to create waves in China's tech industry.

TagsDidi, apple, Apple investment, investment, Didi ride-hailing, ride-hailing, Uber, china, China ride-hailing service, Didi services