Uber’s valuation continues to soar.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Uber has closed a funding round of almost $1 billion, pushing its worth past the $50 billion mark. The San Francisco-based company has been on a clear upward trajectory. Just seven months ago, Uber confirmed a round of financing that put its valuation at $18 billion; six months before that, investors had valued the company at $17 billion.
What’s remarkable is that Uber achieved this milestone in six years, eclipsing Facebook’s rate of growth. The social network, which went public in 2012, was valued at $50 billion in 2011, its seventh year.
Investors are clearly eager to get onboard as Uber accelerates its growth globally. The report of Uber’s latest funding comes on the heels of its announcement yesterday (July 30) that it will invest $1 billion to scale its operations in India, one of Uber’s fastest-growing markets. The car-hailing service is now available in more than 300 cities.
Uber Company
Uber Technologies Inc. is an American international transportation network company headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company develops, markets and operates the Uber mobile app, which allows consumers with smartphones to submit a trip request which is then routed to Uber drivers who use their own cars.[1][2] By 28 May 2015, the service was available in 58 countries and 300 cities worldwide.[3][4] Since Uber’s launch, several other companies have copied its business model, a trend that has come to be referred to as “Uberification”.[5][6]
Uber was founded as “UberCab” by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp in 2009 and the app was released the following June. Beginning in 2012, Uber expanded internationally. In 2014, it experimented with carpooling features and made other updates. By mid-2015, Uber was estimated to be worth $50B.[7] It is estimated that Uber will generate $10 billion in revenue by the end of 2015.[8]
The legality of Uber has been challenged by governments and taxi companies, who allege that its use of drivers who are not licensed to drive taxicabs is unsafe and illegal.
Early history
Uber was founded by Garrett Camp, the founder of StumbleUpon, and Travis Kalanick in 2009. The company received $200,000 in seed funding that same year. In 2010, Uber raised $1.25 million in additional funding.
Following a beta launch in the summer of 2010, Uber’s services and mobile app officially launched in San Francisco in 2011. Initially, Ryan Graves was appointed as CEO, however, Kalanick replaced him in the role later that year.Graves stepped down to become the company’s COO.
By the end of 2011, Uber had raised $44.5 million in funding. That year, the company changed its name from UberCab to Uber.
