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Though, I'm sure that the people here will justify Uber's merely superficial bad behavior. After all, silicon valley can do no evil, and accumulating profit at all costs is the best way to advance human society, right? Stay classy HN.
Wow. $40 Billion valuation, hiring 1 million people in the coming year, opening new sites at the rate of almost 1/day. Neither Travis Kalanick or any current senior execs sold any stock in the current round. Uber will either be the biggest boom or bust story there's been in quite some time. This will be fun to watch.
Have any of the released Uber decks show when profitability is expected and what their run rate is? Curious how long VC money can fund cheap rides for.
Congratulations to the team. Although lately I feel like Dr. Evil and his 1 million ransom when I see that kind of valuations thrown around.
They could drop the price of Uber X (again) but absorb the cost to drivers, edging Lyft out of the market. As long as they beat Lyft before the investment cash runs out, they win the market and are free to raise prices again. I don't want Uber to become the new taxi monopoly off the back of VC cash.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have any of the released Uber decks show when profitability is expected and what their run rate is? Curious how long VC money can fund cheap rides for.
The rides are not really cheap. At best, in nyc, uber x is advertised to be cheaper than a taxi but that is really not always the case.
It's a popular meme in tech journalism that Uber is "under attack" for its nefarious business practices, but how much has this sense pervaded outside the tech bubble?
How much does Uber spend? How could they possibly need to raise that much?
Uber spends a lot to acquire new drivers. They hire staff to recruit them, give them a new phone, and give the driver a signing bonus.
They've also changed their take rate on drivers. New drivers IIRC are at 25%, older partners are at 20%, but maybe this varies on city.
Honest question: what is the return multiple that an investor expect when he/she invests in a $40bi valuation? If Angels & Seed expect 100x; VC expect 10x; I imagine these investors expect as much as a common stock exchange investor: 1.2x a year?
http://www.vanityfair.com/business/2014/12/uber-travis-kalan...