Uber, the five-year-old cab service through which users can hail a ride from Uber’s everyman drivers, has been valued at more than $50 billion dollars, according to a report on CNN Money.
CNN quoted a valuation provided by privately held data provider PrivCo, who valued Uber at about $51 billion, edging it ahead of a “Chinese smartphone company” and popular accommodation site Airbnb.
That means (Uber) surpasses Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi as the most valuable privately-held company. Xiaomi was most recently valued at $46 billion, according to PrivCo. Airbnb comes in third; it’s valued at over $25 billion.
The story is big news of another reason, CNN reporter Sara Ashley O’Brien wrote — the valuation of Uber indicates that the car-for-hire service has hit the $50 billion mark faster than Facebook, long considered unassailable in the way it rocketed to the top tier of the startup world.
Uber’s astronomical valuation is the result of a round of funding which took place this past May, O’Brien wrote.
Among the company’s investment suitors, according to the story, were Microsoft and India-based Bennett Coleman & Co.
Business Insider also covered the mind-boggling valuation, quoting several sources, including The Wall Street Journal.
The publication highlighted Uber’s efforts to try and carve out a chunk of the Indian DIY cab movement, where competitor Ola is “valued at $2 billion.”
On Thursday, Uber announced it would be sinking $1 billion into its Indian markets to take on Ola, a rival car-hailing service in the country valued at $2 billion.
According to Business Insider, Uber’s operations in India represent the company’s second largest market.
When reached for a quote about the new valuation and the company’s most recent round of funding, Business Insider quoted an Uber spokesperson as having said, “We filed to authorize this new funding more than two months ago. The filing is available to the public.”
