Microsoft finalized their $100 million investment in Uber Technologies, a value said to be at $50 billion.
The Uber Technologies company was valued at $40 billion earlier on in 2015, thanks to investors that saw the innovative car-booking technology as a future asset. The company, currently based out of San Francisco is using the cash to expand across the nation as well as around the globe, according to Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick.
“We filed to authorize this new funding more than two months ago,” said Kristin Carvell, an Uber spokeswoman. “The filing is available to the public. We aren’t commenting on additional speculation.”
Just last month, Microsoft sold part of its Bing mapping to Uber. The deal offered positions to over 100 Microsoft employees working on data analysis and image acquisition for Bing, which is Microsoft’s web-search engine. And now, Microsoft is reported to have closed a $1-billion financing deal, valued at $51 billion, with Uber, according to Business Standard.
Uber and Microsoft plan to integrate Microsoft’s Cortana voice-controlled assistant with Uber in order for people to hail an Uber rides on a schedule instead of on-the-moment. The investment by Microsoft is a firm indicator that the two companies plan to reveal their work together in the past as well as their plan to remain partners in the future.
Uber was founded in 2009 by Kalanick and Garrett Camp. Since then, the services they offer have reached 300 cities in 57 countries.
The company has been known as a disruptor to established taxi and limousine companies who have unapologetically responded in protest. Uber has also been in the news for upsetting regulators who have in turn sued the company or banned them across the globe.
With this public partnership with Microsoft, Uber is making an attempt to resolve current problems and forge ahead.
Leave a Reply