First reported by The Wall Street Journal on July 31, the popular and controversial ride-sharing company Uber Technologies Inc increased their monetary valuation to $50 billion after its latest round of funding, surpassing Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp and making them the world's most highly-valued private startup.
Uber raised close to $1 billion thanks to investments from tech giant Microsoft Corp MSFT and Indian media company Bennett Coleman, among other financial backers. This puts Uber in line with Facebook Inc's FB previous record for a venture-backed start-up.
The company was previously valued at $40 billion after financing earlier this year. With this new wave of financial backing, CEO Travis Kalanick expects to use the money to continue its fast-paced expansion efforts in cities across the globe.
Not only is Uber now the start-up company with the highest value, but its new valuation is larger than the market capitalization of over 80% of S&P 500 companies. Uber is now almost as big as General Motors Inc GM and surpasses Netflix Inc NFLX , thanks to research done by CNBC .
So when will Uber's IPO happen? It seems more likely now than ever before. With continued big name companies backing the San Francisco-based start-up, Uber is continuing to reap the benefits of investors who believe that ride-sharing technology is the future of transportation (see: Will Uber be the Hottest IPO of 2015? ).
Stay tuned for an update on this story here at Zacks.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
