Uber to invest $1 billion (Rs 6,400 crore) in India over a time period of nine months. This news has been let out within days after the news suggesting that the rival Ola is in discussion to raise an investment of at least $500 million started surfacing.
This investment will definitely help Uber in expanding its operations to new cities and also develop new products as well as payment solutions, stated the India President of the San Francisco based startup, Amit Jain. The company is valued for an estimated amount of $50 billion.
Regarding the same, Jain who joined Uber from Rent-.com in the United Stated claimed that they will be establishing a great support network as well as public-private partnerships in the country.
Uber has grown quickly in India ever since its operations commenced in Bengaluru in the year 2013. It is now present in 18 cities across the country. However, it operates in more number of cities in the U.S. As of now, Uber has a $250 million run rate in the country with nearly 200,000 rides per day, claimed an unidentified industry source.
Uber has not commented anything related to these numbers, but it has stated that the investment will definitely help the firm reach over 1 million trips a day in the next six months or nine months time frame. The firm is expecting to support around 200,000 jobs in the country by the next year.
In December last year, Eric Alexander, the Asia Head for Business at Uber stated that they are ready to invest $500 million in the country in the coming years. The promise to invest $1 billion is in addition to the commitment and it points out the importance of the country in the scheme of things of Uber.
Even in China, Uber is expected to make a similar investment of $1 billion this year in order to expand its operations. Regarding this Kartik Hosanagar, a professor at the Wharton Business School stated that the firm has raised the bar for transport companies all over the world.
Uber is partnering with the Telangana government to identify and train over 2,000 drivers by the end of the next year and they will drive using the platform of the service provider. It has plans to invest up to $50 million in the state. Also, Uber has set up a customer care unit in Hyderabad.
