55688 app. (Taiwan Taxi photo) 55688 app. (Taiwan Taxi photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Taxi on Monday (March 21) announced that its subsidiary Taiwan Intelligent Life Co. and Tokyo/Taipei-based venture capital firm Headline Asia have formed a strategic partnership.

The deal will see Headline Asia, which focuses on early stage tech ventures, invest US$5 million (NT$143 million) in Taiwan Intelligent Life. The investment will give Headline Asia a seat on the board and a stake in the company, according to a press release.

Taiwan Intelligent Life is the operator of 55688, which since its creation in 2011 has become the country's largest ride-hailing platform. The investment looks to speed up 55688’s expansion to a broader app that provides more lifestyle services.

The 55688 app currently has over 6.5 million users and provides a range of services, including ride-hailing, housekeeping, dry cleaning, and moving. Founded in 2005, Taiwan Taxi is the country’s largest taxi company, serving around 80 million customers per year, and boasts more than 22,000 taxi cabs, accounting for 24% of Taiwan’s taxi industry.

“This partnership is based on a shared vision of turning 55688 into a lifestyle-focused super app in Taiwan and beyond. By leveraging the high traffic volume of our existing ride-hailing service, we can buoy other relevant services by leaning on big data and AI. Meanwhile, our higher-margin services will supplement those of the lower margin,” said Taiwan Taxi CEO Tracy Lin (林念臻).

Taiwan Taxi’s early embrace of digital technology has been vital to its sustained leadership within the country’s transportation sector, said Joseph Huang (黃立安), a partner at Headline Asia. “We hope the success of this partnership will encourage more Taiwanese traditional companies to embrace digital technology and undergo their own transformation so the world can see that Taiwanese companies are capable of creating best-in-class start-ups and apps,” he added.

Taiwan News © 2019 All Rights Reserved.