The popular ride-sharing service Uber receives yet another whopping investment, only this time, it’s quite a bit bigger. This investment came at the tune of $3.5 billion USD and comes from Saudi Arabia. An amount that is sure to show the currently private company that the Saudis are serious about seeing the growth of Uber within its borders.
Uber is currently worth approximately $62.5 billion and quickly growing. The large sum of money apparently comes from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which aims to make the country more dependent, and less reliant on the oil industry as a part of its 2030 plan.
According to Engadget, Uber has been operating in Saudi Arabia since 2014 and has been doing quite well. Largely due the fact that it is against the law for women to drive in Saudi Arabia, which corresponds to the fact that women make up 80-percent of the service’s users.
Uber currently has no specific plans on how it will expand in Saudi Arabia, but surely some sort of growth is on the horizon. CEO, Travis Kalanick’s responds to the investment hinting that while the company may not approve of all the social policies the country holds, it looks forward to working with them in the future.
“Our experience in Saudi Arabia is a great example of how Uber can benefit riders, drivers, and cities and we look forward to partnering to support their economic and social reforms.”
With the amount of funding that Uber has been receiving towards international expansion, it is likely we could see the ridesharing giant go public fairly soon. However, only time will tell what the company decides and how this newly forged relationship will develop.
Featured Image Via Pexels
