Uber is launching a new round of financing plan

Tencent Technology News May 16 news, sources said on Thursday, Uber taxi application is launching a new round of financing plan, the current round of financing the company's valuation will exceed 100 billion US dollars. Uber completed $ 258 million last year in a deal that valued Uber at $ 3.5 billion.

According to sources, Uber is currently negotiating with the new private equity investors to raise financing, consider raising less than 1 billion US dollars of funds. However, the source said Uber's financing size and valuation may be adjusted. Up to now, Uber spokesman did not comment on this news.

If Uber were able to raise funds for more than $ 10 billion in valuation, the company would also join the so-called "billion-dollar closed-end holding company club." The club's membership now includes AOL's online home rental site Airbnb, and Dropbox, the online storage service provider that recently raised $ 10 billion in valuations. In addition to the companies listed above, Palantir Technologies, a big data mining analyst, considered funding a valuation of at least 9 billion U.S. dollars at the end of last year. What is the concept of $ 10 billion valuation? Bloomberg statistics show that in the S & P 500 constituent stocks, the average market capitalization of technology companies is about 160 billion US dollars.

One of the focuses of recent market debate has been the topic of whether Silicon Valley is now entering a new round of bubble. Although the number of tech companies currently making IPOs is less than the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s, market research firm CB Insights statistics show venture capital firms invested $ 10 billion in tech-innovation companies in the first quarter of this year Funding, the highest since the second quarter of 2001. Statistics from law firm Fenwick & West show that in the first quarter, the technology innovation company's financing valuation hit a record high since 2004.

According to sources, Uber will use this round of financing obtained funds to support business growth and expansion. The company hired Cameron Poetzscher from Goldman in March as director of corporate development. Bateszers was responsible for Goldman's acquisitions and acquisitions in San Francisco.

Uber was founded in 2009 by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp. Their idea was to let users use their smartphones to call the nearest electric car and track the progress on the map as they made their way to their destination. After the taxi is over, the service automatically pays the driver a subsidy through the credit card information pre-entered by the customer without the need to separately tip. This experience is very simple, but also very enjoyable, eliminating the cumbersome procedures on the roadside taxi.

Uber has previously raised $ 307.5 million from venture capital firms such as Benchmark, Deutsche Bank and Google Ventures through several rounds of financing. Uber has now launched its service to 115 cities around the world with 900 employees. Uber charges the driver 20% of the revenue as a commission.

Uber's vision

In a previously released blog, Uber's CEO, Karajan, said: "Our vision is to create a technology company that is committed to transforming the transportation and logistics of a global city center, and getting this funding allows us to make that happen."

Uber not only has high-end luxury cars and luxury cars, but also have a low-cost choice. The company recently launched a courier service in Manhattan, New York, the future may extend the service to other cities. Since its inception, Uber and its competitors have been facing many challenges. Uber's main rival, Lyft, raised $ 250 million in April this year to expand its carpooling service to 60 U.S. cities. Lyft's cash reserves enabled the company to provide passengers with subsidies, triggering a price war with Uber.

In addition, Uber faces a number of regulatory challenges. The rough car industry in London is currently planning a general strike of 10,000 people next month to oppose Uber services. Earlier, a number of cities in the taxi industry in Europe have held a general strike against Uber. (Ming Hin)