Chapter 284: Didi's Qian Du Era: A 1.2 Billion Loss? The Crazy Showdown!

"Cheng Wei, this good-for-nothing! Didi Chuxing's market share isn't growing but shrinking; they've lost two hundred million yuan, yet produced nothing!"

On the sixth floor of the Qian Du Building, Li Yanhong glanced at the business and financial weekly report sent by Cheng Wei and immediately flew into a rage.

In the past two weeks, Qian Du's business development has been fraught with difficulties everywhere; Zhou Hongyi jumped out with 360 Search to stir up trouble, snatching nearly ten percentage points of market share from the group's search business, causing Qian Du's stock price to plummet.

The ride-hailing track is equally turbulent; now, in the northern market, Didi Chuxing's operational scope matches Kuaidi Dache, lacking only the three cities of Luzhou, Jinling, and Hangcheng, but in daily average orders, they fall short by 1.5 to 1.6 million.

Li Yanhong regretted it!

He should have agreed sooner to the proposals from Legend Capital and Today Capital to kick Cheng Wei out of the Didi CEO position.

"Huawei Iron Army? Does he even deserve it!"

Li Yanhong cursed furiously.

Mama Ali CEO Lu Zhaoxi, Laoshouwang CEO Shan Jiawei, and Dianping COO Lv Guangyu—these people also came from the Huawei Iron Army; which one isn't more capable than Cheng Wei?

Thinking of this, Li Yanhong leaned back, took out his phone, and called Xu Xin: "President Xu, I believe Cheng Wei is no longer suitable to serve as the CEO of Didi Chuxing."

"Does President Li have a suitable candidate in mind?" Xu Xin did not probe deeply; Cheng Wei's performance was visible to all investors.

Given her understanding of Li Yanhong, enduring until now was truly no easy feat.

Today Capital's shareholding is 12.2%; although it is the third-largest shareholder of Didi Chuxing, Today Capital is merely a pure investment fund company, so naturally, it cannot compare to Qian Du in terms of talent reserves.

The subtext of Xu Xin's words was also clear: Today Capital supports replacing the person but will not interfere with specific operational matters.

"Wang Jin and Xiang Hailong; one will be responsible for technology and strategy, the other for commercialization and traffic."

Li Yanhong was not at all polite and laid out the plan in full.

Wang Jin excels in technology-driven businesses, having once led the development of the Qian Du mobile operating system; he can provide LBS and order scheduling algorithm support for Didi Chuxing, making him suitable for the CTO role.

Xiang Hailong is a veteran employee of Qian Du, skilled in traffic monetization and commercial operations, with steady conduct, making him suitable for the CEO role.

"Fine, I have no objection," Xu Xin replied.

Although, as far as she knew, Legend Capital seemed to want to push their own Young Lady into the position, she did not remind Li Yanhong.

After hanging up the phone, Li Yanhong called Zhu Nanli, the head of Legend Capital.

"President Li, regarding the removal of Cheng Wei from the CEO position, Legend Capital can cast a vote in favor, but for the new CEO candidate, I would like to recommend Ms. Liu Yiqing, Executive Director of Goldman Sachs Asia."

After hearing Li Yanhong's purpose, Zhu Nanli agreed without hesitation, but he took the opportunity to make a request.

Liu Yiqing?

The eldest daughter of the Liu family?

Li Yanhong looked troubled; Qian Du holds 36% of the equity in Didi Chuxing, making it the undisputed largest shareholder.

Legend Capital holds only 10%, but the other party stands behind the Lenovo Liu family; if recommending Liu Yiqing as Didi Chuxing CEO is Liu Chengzhi's wish, he must consider it carefully.

"Is this Mr. Liu's wish?" Li Yanhong asked tentatively.

Zhu Nanli frowned and immediately understood the subtext in Li Yanhong's words: if Liu Chengzhi had instructed it, he might consider it, or even make certain concessions.

Otherwise, no deal!

"Does President Li also have a candidate?" Zhu Nanli countered.

Li Yanhong sneered; wasn't that a waste of words!

The combined equity of Legend Capital, Sequoia Capital, Gao Ling Capital, and Today Capital is not even as high as Qian Du Net's shareholding percentage.

On what grounds should Liu Yiqing make the decisions?

Perhaps the other party's abilities are good, but where else can one find someone more comfortable and trustworthy to use?

"Yes," Li Yanhong replied concisely.

From Zhu Nanli's tone of voice, he had already gotten the answer; since it was not Liu Chengzhi's idea, there was no need to be too accommodating.

After all, this is a business worth billions; carelessness is not an option.

Zhu Nanli looked troubled and, after pondering for a moment, replied: "President Li, Ms. Liu Yiqing has worked at Goldman Sachs for over ten years and is absolutely capable of serving as CEO."

"I can leave her a CFO position," Li Yanhong said, not closing the door completely, giving a little face.

Alas, unfortunately, what the Young Lady wants is the CEO position!

Seeing that communication was impossible, after a brief exchange of pleasantries, Zhu Nanli hung up the phone hurriedly.

Li Yanhong paid it no mind; the combined shareholding of Cheng Wei and Wang Gang is only 38.08%, while Qian Du and Today Capital together hold 48.2%, enough to convene a shareholders' meeting and kick Cheng Wei out.

To prevent accidents, immediately afterward, he separately contacted Zhang Lei of Gao Ling Capital and Wang Qiong of Overseas Asia.

Zhang Lei agreed very straightforwardly, but Wang Qiong's stance was ambiguous, neither opposing nor supporting.

Li Yanhong didn't take it to heart; with Gao Ling Capital added, the shareholding percentage already exceeds 50%.

Therefore, the vote from Overseas Asia was no longer important.

The next morning, Li Yanhong, Li Guangping, Vice President of Today Capital, and Zhang Lei of Gao Ling Capital went together to the headquarters of Didi Chuxing.

Zhu Nanli of Legend Capital and Wang Qiong of Overseas Asia did not attend but sent representatives.

Early in the morning, Cheng Wei sat in his office in a daze; since receiving the message last night, he had been in a state of instability.

In front of these capital tycoons, he was still too green!

Twelve hours ago, he didn't even know what AB share structures, acting-in-concert agreements, and voting rights entrustment agreements were.

Now he understood, but it was too late.

"President Cheng, how about we build another ride-hailing platform and start fresh?"

Zhang Bo, the CTO of Didi Chuxing, looking at Cheng Wei's exhausted expression, said indignantly.

"There's no chance; domestic venture capital institutions willing to invest in the ride-hailing track are either on the Kuaidi Dache side or the Didi Chuxing side; this project burns too much money, and few investors dare to put in the funds."

Cheng Wei forced a bitter smile and shook his head.

From May to August, Didi Chuxing burned through 430 million yuan in funds, losing over 100 million a month; the entry threshold for this industry is too high.

Zhang Bo was slightly stunned, then sighed, staring blankly out the window; several singing cicadas landed on the loquat tree downstairs, emitting a series of harsh cries, sounding somewhat mournful and desolate.

Cheng Wei stood up, pushed the door open, walked out, leaned against the glass wall, and stared straight ahead at the office area.

The company he had worked so hard to build over half a year was about to be handed over in the blink of an eye; to say he didn't feel bad would be a lie.

At that moment, Li Yanhong entered with a group of people and ran straight into Cheng Wei; the two exchanged a glance.

From Li Yanhong's perspective, what he did was beyond reproach; Qian Du had invested over two hundred million into DiDi Dache, and since Cheng Wei lacked capability, he naturally had to step aside.

But in Cheng Wei's eyes, DiDi Dache was his project; Li Yanhong and the others were merely investors, yet they were kicking the founder out, a move that was far too unscrupulous.

However, such people are common in the investment circle; Cheng Wei was not the first entrepreneur kicked out by capital, nor would he be the last.

"President Li!" Cheng Wei smiled with great difficulty.

"I am doing this for the stable operation and long-term development of the project; I hope you can understand," Li Yanhong said lightly. I understand your mother!

Cheng Wei snorted coldly, unable to hold back for a moment, and cursed silently in his heart.

But he knew that Li Yanhong and the others were determined to replace him; no matter how he fought for it, the result would not change in any way.

"President Li, this is Zhang Bo, the CTO of DiDi Dache; his technical skills are solid, and he is familiar with LBS and search algorithms..."

Cheng Wei strove to maintain the last shred of dignity and, pointing at Zhang Bo, introduced him, hoping to keep Zhang Bo's position.

"I know; Zhang Bo was originally a search engineer at Qian Du; it seems President Cheng trusts you very much."

Li Yanhong smiled and spoke to Zhang Bo.

Although Zhang Bo was a former employee of Qian Du and, to some extent, a "traitor" to Qian Du, the fact that he could earn Cheng Wei's recognition after leaving Qian Du was also a compliment to Qian Du's talent cultivation system.

Zhang Bo gave a forced smile, not knowing what to say.

"For the CTO of DiDi Dache, I have another candidate; if you don't mind, you can stay on as Technical Director, with the same treatment."

Li Yanhong patted Zhang Bo's shoulder and asked his opinion with a smile.

Regardless, Zhang Bo counted as half an "insider," so there was no need to replace everyone.

Zhang Bo opened his mouth, just about to speak, when Li Yanhong cut him off.

He knew clearly that Cheng Wei was still standing nearby, so Zhang Bo's reply would most likely be insincere.

"President Li, please come inside!" Cheng Wei took a deep breath, forced a smile, and led Li Yanhong, Li Guangping, Zhang Lei, and others into the office.

Next, both sides communicated very "pleasantly."

Cheng Wei resigned from his position as CEO of DiDi Dache and took on the role of Strategic Development Advisor for DiDi Dache.

Li Yanhong originally intended to use this opportunity to acquire the equity Cheng Wei held, but Cheng Wei was not stupid; DiDi Dache had been online for less than four months, and its valuation had risen from ten million to four billion.

If he sold out in a fit of pique now, he would truly become a fool.

On August 15, Qian Du's management team officially took over the operations of DiDi Dache.

Founder Cheng Wei stepped back to the second line, and former CTO Zhang Bo was demoted to Technical Director, continuing to serve Li Yanhong.

When Cheng Wei left Digital Valley, his mind still replayed Zhang Bo's words: "President Cheng, I will advance and retreat with you!"

When interests are at stake, where is there any friendship to discuss?

In an instant, Cheng Wei's thinking on business operations matured significantly, but the cost was losing control of DiDi Dache.

At two o'clock that afternoon, the specific details of Kuaidi Dache's Series B financing quietly appeared on the trending search list.

"Kuaidi Dache 3.5 billion USD," "Series B financing 500 million USD," and "Recharge 399 get 520" search terms were scattered side by side in the sixth, seventeenth, and thirty-sixth positions.

"Recharge 399 get 520" was a marketing campaign launched by Kuaidi Dache at midnight on August 15; users paying 399 yuan could receive 520 yuan in ride-hailing funds, along with five 12-yuan no-threshold coupons.

The more you recharge, the more you get; there is no cap on the number of participations, and refunds are supported at any time.

The top ten rechargers in each time slot received a 64GB version of the Sister Chengzi C2 smartphone.

As soon as the campaign launched, the number of participating users exceeded 100,000.

Recharging 399 yuan actually resulted in 580 yuan received, a discount of approximately 6.88, equivalent to saving 181 yuan.

Although Kuaidi Dache offered instant discounts for new customers and subsidies for existing ones, for users with high-frequency travel needs, those small discounts were merely a drop in the bucket.

Within 24 hours of launch, the cumulative number of users participating in the recharge campaign reached a staggering 461,000; in a single day, the revenue from the campaign alone reached 440 million, with an average participation rate of 2.6 times per person.

This move by Cheng Weixing would, first, increase user stickiness and bind long-term consumption.

Second, it would quickly recoup funds, alleviate cash flow pressure, and reduce reliance on venture capital funding.

Third, it would reduce customer acquisition costs, utilizing the gameplay of gifting ride-hailing funds to friends and family to enhance the social viral effect.

As expected, by the next day, the order volume of existing customers in DiDi Dache in Yanjing, Tang Cheng, Jinmen, Anci, and Changshan had sharply decreased by thirty percent; these users had all recharged on Kuaidi Dache.

Although user loyalty is extremely low, running a recharge campaign is indeed a good method for deeply binding users.

Why do supermarkets, barbershops, KTVs, and restaurants love to run recharge card promotions?

There is no other reason; it is just damn useful, with outstanding results!

Wang Jin and Xiang Hailong, who had just taken over DiDi Dache's operations, instinctively chose to follow Kuaidi Dache's operational strategy.

But in Li Yanhong's view, this behavior was too passive; DiDi Dache should launch an offensive, not be led around by the nose by Kuaidi Dache.

Thus, on August 16, DiDi Dache changed its countermeasures, first launching the Qian Du Maps Travel Edition, combining ride-hailing with map navigation.

Subsequently, they adjusted the subsidy strategy, canceling the new customer campaign and treating new and existing customers equally, offering two opportunities per day for an instant 10-yuan discount.

Most passengers' normal commuting needs amount to only two or three trips a day.

As soon as DiDi Dache's campaign launched, the number of participants in Kuaidi Dache's recharge campaign immediately dropped to freezing point.

"Idiot!" Cheng Weixing cursed loudly, but could only adjust his tactics.

He did not cancel the new customer campaign; instead, he sent users two 10-yuan red packets daily; taking a Kuaidi Dache ride and completing an order would activate the funds into the Sister Chengzi Pay balance.

Just consider it a way to inflate revenue data!

In an instant, the competition between Kuaidi and DiDi Dache entered a phase of bayonet fighting, burning through more than 40 million in funds every day.

That is 1.2 billion a month!

Li Yanhong, while gritting his teeth to fight the subsidy war, actively sought financing opportunities.

Netizens in Yanjing, Beihe, and Jinmen posted screenshots of free ride orders on Weibo, BBS forums, and Moments every day, causing netizens in southern regions to envy them immensely.

The internet was all speculating: how long can the subsidy war between Kuaidi and DiDi last?

At the same time.

The search war between 360 and Baidu grew more and more reckless; 360 brazenly scraped Baidu's data and blocked all of Baidu's products.

Baidu, in turn, added 360's search products to its "antivirus software blacklist," so that when users searched "360 Search official site" through Baidu, they couldn't be redirected properly either.

It was purely a fight that hurt both sides.

As for user experience?

What was that?

360 and Baidu were treating the users like dirt, making everyone's life miserable.

Lingxi Search, which had been watching the whole fight from the sidelines, saw its market share steadily climb.

On the morning of August 17th at 9 a. m., the Yanjing Business Association and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Association jointly issued a warning to 360 and Baidu, and summoned Zhou Hongyi and Li Yanhong for talks.

(End of chapter)