Skip to main content

Uber valued at $17bn after latest funding round

uber valued 17bn latest funding round

On-demand cab replacement service Uber has completed another round of funding that values the firm at a staggering $17 billion, TechCrunch reports. Now live in 67 cities across the States and 36 other countries across the world, Uber continues to dazzle tech investors, with $1.4bn of venture capital being pumped into the startup this time around.

With Uber’s continuing expansion and new features like Google Maps integration, the service is reaching out beyond early adopters to the public at large. This hasn’t been without its problems though: The company is involved in a heated legal battle on the streets of London, where drivers of the city’s famous black taxis are fighting to keep Uber away from their customers.

The last round of funding — which closed less than a year ago — valued the company at a mere $3.4 billion, and some industry commentators are warning that Uber is being dangerously overvalued. Uber itself has no such worries: “Uber is changing the fabric of these cities,” the firm says in a blog post. “At our current rate, Uber is responsible for directly creating 20,000 new jobs per month and powering billions in economic impact in cities around the world — while also improving the environment, reducing DUI rates and fueling urban economic development.”

Uber continues to experiment with new features as it grows, from delivering air conditioners to offering cars with fitted child seats. New investors this time around include Fidelity Investments, Wellington Management and BlackRock Inc, with Summit Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Google Ventures and Menlo Ventures also backing the four year-old business.

Have you tested out Uber for yourself? Do you think it’s worth such a sky-high valuation? Let us know in the comments.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
David Nield
Dave is a freelance journalist from Manchester in the north-west of England. He's been writing about technology since the…
Uber has shut down Xchange Leasing after learning it’s seriously in the red
Uber's ailing Xchange Leasing branch purchased by Fair.com
Xchange Leasing

It's no secret that Uber has always had trouble hanging onto money, but now that it's being kicked out of a major market, the transportation giant is doing everything it can to cut costs. The latest casualty at Uber is Xchange Leasing, its American auto-leasing business. And given that the venture was losing 18 times more money on each vehicle than previously believed, it seems like the wise choice in this situation. Luckily, just a few months after deciding to shutter Xchange, Uber has found a buyer for the business -- Fair.com.

As initially reported by the Wall Street Journal, Uber first began toying with the idea of closing down the business over the summer. The original hope was for a buyout, but the company appeared to get impatient a few months ago, and shut Xchange Leasing down without a buyer over the summer, affecting about 500 jobs. Simultaneously, however, Uber launched a sale process, and now, that process has reached its conclusion.

Read more
More regulations are coming as EU rules that Uber is not simply an app
eu rules uber more than app elevate 2

Uber's year of trials and tribulations is not over yet, and not getting any better. On Wednesday, December 20, the Court of Justice of the European Union determined that Uber is not simply an app or a tech platform, but rather a transport service. As a result, the company must comply with the transportation regulations of the EU's member states, and cannot simply assert that its services fall exclusively under the jurisdiction of the more lax ecommerce guidelines.

According to the European Union's top court, Uber's "intermediation service … must be regarded as being inherently linked to a transport service and, accordingly, must be classified as ‘a service in the field of transport’ within the meaning of EU law.” The decision continued, “Consequently, such a service must be excluded from the scope of the freedom to provide services in general as well as the directive on services in the internal market and the directive on electronic commerce. It follows that, as EU law currently stands, it is for the Member States to regulate the conditions under which such services are to be provided.”

Read more
Uber could be out of London soon after losing its license there
Uber just lost a key battle on workers' rights in the U.K.
how to delete your uber account

In one of the biggest blows to Uber’s business since its founding eight years ago, the ridesharing company has had its application for a new operating license in London rejected. However, the latest news has the company's CEO and the head of the relevant London transport agency in talks that both parties are characterizing as positive.

Regulator Transport for London (TfL) told Uber on September 22 that it is “not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator license” and therefore it will not grant a replacement when the current one expires at the end of this month. Uber has 21 days to appeal the ruling and can continue serving riders during that time.

Read more