After enjoying staggering private valuation and large spaces in the media across the world for years, Uber has been having a rickety ride since it went public in May this year. Its valuation has nosedived to over 40% from a peak of $80 billion.
While the company mired into more problems when Dara Khosrowshahi termed that the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by the Saudi government was a mistake and compared it to Uber’s self-driving accident in which a woman died, the company has just recharged Indian operations by infusing Rs 1,767 crore – according to regulatory filings.
The fresh fund injection would allow the company to keep fighting arch-nemesis Ola and maintain its sliding market share. It’s worth noting that Ola had reportedly raised $200 million from Microsoft at a valuation of $10 billion.
For some industry watchers, the fund allocation was planned and expected after the restructuring local business. The ride-hailing firm recently moved its entire India business to Uber India System and shifted operation reporting to Amsterdam based Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, who as vice president heads the company’s Europe, Middle East and Africa business.
As a part of its global cost-cutting drive, Uber had laid off about 10% ~ 350 people ~ of its total headcount in India. In the wake of shrinking valuation, Uber couldn’t afford to ignore India that still has headroom for growth.
To have a sharp focus on core (ride-hailing) business, Uber also considered consolidating its food delivery business with Swiggy. However, the talks didn’t progress on differences over valuation. The company has been ramping up a holistic passenger transportation play with the integration of public transport feature in its app. It’s also expected to add its Uber Bus service soon.
Hat tip: paper.vc
