In a recent interview, Uber Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick said he considers India one of its fastest-growing markets, ranking it third only behind the United States and China.

Zhang Xu, an analyst at Beijing-based Internet consultancy Analysys International, said: "Apart from competing with Uber in other countries, Didi Kuaidi also needs to use overseas investment to maintain its high-speed growth."

Didi Kuaidi currently claims 99 percent of China's taxi-hailing market, and 82 percent of the country's chauffeur-booking service.

"There is not a lot of room for further development in China if it wants to maintain the same kind of growth it used to have.

"Didi Kuaidi can quickly expand overseas by investing in strong players in other countries. That's a much easier way than entering a new market with its own brand and service," said Zhang.

In its partnership with Lyft, Didi Kuaidi will collaborate on launching cross-platform services early next year, which means when Chinese people travel to the US, they can book Lyft's cars locally via the Didi Kuaidi app.

Wang Xiaofeng, a tech analyst at Forrester Research Inc, said it is still unclear whether Didi Kuaidi will cooperate with Ola and GrabTaxi in a similar way.

"But Didi Kuaidi can surely benefit from such partnerships and is expected to gain some technological perks from its investment in Ola.

"Southeast Asian countries are very popular destinations for China's outbound travelers. India is known for its advanced Internet technology," she said.