As the worlds largest smartphone market, China is proving a battleground for a number of mobile services. Ride-hailing service Uber has just announced a $1.2bn (£786m) funding round, even as Chinese rival Didi Kuaidi raises $3bn.

Uber Chinas funding round was first reported by Chinese-language site Sina, and has since been confirmed by the company, who are expected to make an official announcement later today.

The round was led by Chinese search giant Baidu, which has already invested in the service in the past, although exact figures have not been confirmed. The investment does bring Uber Chinas valuation to over $8bn, however.

Didi Kuaidi has the largest market share of car-hailing apps in China, and is valued at around $16.5bn following the latest round of investment.

Investors include Baidu rivals Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings, as well as a number of Chinese and international investment firms. The company has not confirmed the funding round, but announced in August that it had already reached $2bn and was expected to grow due to demand by global investors.

Between the two taxi-hailing companies and their investors, it appears that a large number of notable tech firms are betting on Chinas internet-linked transport market becoming the worlds largest.

Analysts have noted that new investment will likely be put towards subsidising ride fares in order to gain larger market shares, suggesting that a battle for the industry is well under way in China.