[UPDATE][EXCLUSIVE]
Sources from inside Uber have told us, that the investment amount ranges anywhere between $75 Million-$100 Million.
PREVIOUSLY
Uber is getting some more financial backing in its pockets, this time, from India-based Tata Opportunities fund, marking it the first outside India investment for the latter.
Tata Capital, investors in this round, manages about USD 6 billion in advances and a further USD 1 billion in private equity assets. However, unlike VC firms, Tata’s capital arm invests in companies after going through with the company’s cash flow and possibility of becoming a profitable business.
As for Uber, this will be yet another funding round, adding to the already over $5 Billion capital it has received till date. TOF will be the second Indian entity to invest in Uber, after Times Internet invested an undisclosed amount into the company earlier.
Uber just recently committed to spend a staggering $1 Billion into its India operations, as India continues to grow as one of Uber’s largest and probably the fastest growing market outside the U.S. India has been an important market for Uber, ever since it started its operations here in October 2013. Starting from a single city (Bangalore), Uber now has presence in over 18 cities across India. It recently expanded operations in 7 new Indian cities together, making it Uber biggest-ever simultaneous expansion till date.
Padmanabh (Paddy) Sinha, Managing Partner of TOF’s advisory team in India, says,
The Tata Opportunities Fund is delighted to support Uber’s growth and continued success around the globe, more recently in China and India.
Travais Kalanick, Uber’s CEO and Founder, said in an e-mailed statement,
Tata is synonymous with entrepreneurialism in India and I am incredibly excited to have the Tata Opportunities Fund on board as a partner.
Uber’s partnership with the Tata Opportunities Fund follows other strategic relationships with Baidu in China, AmericaMovil in Latin America, and American Express in the U.S.
Uber’s funding rounds have started to become even more frequent, with this one coming less than a quarter after the U.S.-HQed cab-hailing service gulped in a massive $1 Billion from Microsoft and India’s Times Internet.
Prior to that, Uber had gobbled up another $600 Million from Chinese internet giant Baidu, in a strategic partnership. While Uber obviously got a lot of money, it also got the backing of one of China’s most influential internet companies, making it easier for the company to operate in a rather tricky Chinese market.
