BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- China's leading car-hailing firm Didi Chuxing Thursday announced that it had raised over 4 billion U.S. dollars in its new equity funding round.

Chinese and international institutions joined the latest fundraising round, a testament to strong investor confidence in the startup, according to a Didi press release.

The company did not name the investors.

The fund will be used to support AI capacity-building, international expansion and new business initiatives, including the development of new energy vehicle service networks.

With a substantial cash reserve, Didi plans to scale up investment in AI talent and technology and further build up its intelligent driving and smart transportation capabilities.