Uber raised $1.2 billion in its latest round of funding from venture capitalists, a sign investors were little fazed by the ride-hailing app’s recent spate of bad publicity over privacy violations and its corporate culture.
The latest investment put a value on Uber at $40 billion.
That’s bigger than the stock market values of companies such as American Airlines and Twitter, or the combined value of car-rental veterans Hertz and Avis Budget Group. At the same time, it is not a guarantee that Uber would receive the same valuation as a publicly traded company that it does as a venture-backed business.
San Francisco-based Uber triggered a wave of online criticism recently after a top executive suggested spending $1 million to dig up dirt on a journalist critical of the driver-on-demand company.
CEO Travis Kalanick said the latest financing round will help the company make “substantial investments,” particularly in Asia.
Uber’s previous funding round also raised $1.2 billion. The company operates in more than 250 cities in 50 countries, although it faces regulatory hurdles and pushback from traditional taxis in many cities.
