Uber is spending — and losing — big to expand its ride-summoning services across the globe.
The San Francisco company lost $237 million on its international business in 2014, up from $31.9 million the year before, according to a document filed with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce last month and reported by Reuters on Wednesday. The filing excludes Uber s U.S. operations.
Uber spokesman Gareth Mead told Reuters the figures reflect a rapidly growing company investing in more people and in more cities. He added Uber s service is available in more than 400 cities now, compared with less than 100 at the start of 2014.
Uber s valuation has skyrocketed in recent years — CB Insights says the company is valued at $51 billion, which it ranks as the highest valuation in the world — but the company has faced challenges in its overseas expansion. Last month CEO Travis Kalanick told Canadian publication Betakit the company is profitable in the U.S., but is losing more than $1 billion a year in China. The company struggles to compete with Chinese on-demand car service Didi Kuaidi Joint Co.
And just as in the U.S., there are some international cities that haven t welcomed Uber with open arms. Last year two Uber executives were arrested in France, where the company s UberPop service had been banned, according to TechCrunch. French authorities said Uber France was running an illegal taxi operation and concealing digital documents. The arrests followed violent anti-Uber protests in the country by taxi drivers.
But Uber continues to forge ahead with its plans for overseas growth. On Thursday, Uber launched its ride-hailing app in Pakistan, and launched a motor-bike hailing service in Bangalore, India, according to The Wall Street Journal. UberMoto first launched a week earlier in Bangkok, Thailand.
Photo: In this April 3, 2014 photo, a smartphone is mounted on the glass of an Uber car in Mumbai, India. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
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