back to article VCs say Uber is worth $41bn... but don't worry, we're not in a bubble

Uber has snapped up a new round of funding that values the company at a staggering US$41bn. The company said that it had generated $1.2bn in a private equity round of fundraising which reportedly valued the firm at $41bn. The massive valuation would put Uber among some of the largest names in Silicon Valley, companies such as …

  1. John Tserkezis

    With that Uber executive vowing to release the hounds, er, private eyes to track and stalk anyone and everyone who's critical of Uber, they might not need to.

    See, some Uber drivers in Melbourne and Sydney Australia aren't compliant with all the rules and regulations required of them, and not only have they been fined (which they should have), the media has come to the party and carefully reported ONLY those who have been fined. So, since the only mention of Uber has been drivers who have been fined, that means, ALL Uber drivers are >that< far away from being fined too.

    Because as we all know, the papers are properly neutral, and give a correct well-rounded review of whatever is happening in our cities.

  2. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

    Uber is a Bubble

    A 'Bubble Car' (Isetta or similar)

    As they have 3 wheels, we all know how easy it is to topple them over.

    Seriously, with more and more cities directly outlawing Uber, I fully expect a huge lawsuit against them from Uber. All their value will go in Lawyers fees. By the time it is over Uber won't be worth a plastic penny.

    Nothing new there.

    Raise dosh

    Start lawsuits

    Lawyers get their Island in the sun

    Investord take a hammering and get $0.00001 back on the dollar

    Where is the Scam/South Sea Bubble icon when you most need it eh?

    1. Dazed and Confused

      Re: Uber is a Bubble

      > Seriously, with more and more cities directly outlawing Uber, I fully expect a huge lawsuit against them from Uber.

      I think you might be looking at this the wrong way around. With that sort of market cap. I think we can see a huge number of lawsuits against Uber. Up until now the lawyers weren't really interested since there was no money, so no point in trying to sue them. The action has only been trying to ban them, but the existing taxi firms couldn't afford a big fight.Now someone has mentioned the all important magic word Billllliiiiioooooooooonnnnnsssssss so the no win no fee get rich quick bottom feeders of the legal world will now be very keen to make sure that any Billllliiiiioooooooooonnnnnsssssss that do exist only exist in the back pocket of the lawyers. So where the cities deem Uber to be competing illegally with existing taxi services, the existing taxi services will now be looking for compensation for lost earning.

      1. Mark 85

        Re: Uber is a Bubble

        Lawyers and Traders. Billy Ray: "Sounds to me like you guys a couple of bookies."

  3. Mark 85

    Pushing for an IPO the investors maybe are?

    With that kind of "valuation" I would suspect that the investors are looking for a way to get their money back and just maybe we'll see an IPO in the offing. Not that I'd touch that one with a ten foot pole.

    1. Cliff

      Re: Pushing for an IPO the investors maybe are?

      Am I the only one remembers how many big institutional investors and small speculators alike got wiped out during dotcomboomandbust1.0? Did I dream it all?

      1. Tom 13

        Re: alike got wiped out during dotcomboomandbust1.0

        [waves hand slightly]

        These are not the busts you're looking for.

        [waves hand again slightly]

        You can invest safely now.

  4. PleebSmash
    Mushroom

    $41bn

    How many Instagrams is that?

    1. Cliff

      Re: $41bn

      41 x more bubbly and overvalued than Instagram. Impressive.

  5. Khaptain Silver badge

    $41 Billion of nothingness

    It appears today that investors are prepared to invest in nothingness. If UBER goes titsup, then there is no product left behind which could be used to at least cover a tiny part of the losses, nope all that is left is nothingness.

    The lawyers and the traders will be happy as they never lose, they always get their commision regardless of the outcome.

    It is becoming increasingly apparent that most of these deals have no other intention other than to make a quick buck, ( lots and lots of quick bucks) at the expense of the investors. When looking for a culprit begin to look at who profits from the crime !!

    I would not consider this as capitalism at work but more likely as organised theft.

    1. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

      Re: $41 Billion of nothingness

      Indeed. I don't even see any significant IP here. At least with Instagram and some of the other hyper-valued app companies, there was some reason to believe a good portion of the user base would remain loyal customers if someone else bought the app. I can't see any reason why Uber users wouldn't switch to another app and firm if Uber crashed - there's no special user experience with the app, as far as I know. (I admit I haven't used it myself, as I have no desire to ever use Uber or the like.)

  6. Frankee Llonnygog

    I think I've met this VC

    Is his name Fuckitty McBonkers?

  7. Dunstan Vavasour

    Bigger Fool

    Clearly a "bigger fool" valuation, based on being able to sell later at a higher price to an even bigger fool.

  8. P0l0nium

    It probably IS worth $41B

    With a revenue stream that includes a 10% cut of every taxi fare on the planet.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

      1. Cliff

        Re: It probably IS worth $41B

        If every man, woman, child, baby, invalid on earth makes over $50 worth of taxi travel (plus rickshaws and the like... And before the oil makes it unviable) and uber get a slice of ALL of it, maybe. But we all know it's a bullshit valuation really, don't we?

        1. Tom 13
          Headmaster

          Re: on earth makes over $50 worth of taxi travel

          Actually, if you assume:

          - it's just everyone in the US

          - use your $50 figure

          - 10% of gross revenue gets to Uber

          They make the $41 billion in 27.33 years. But since they don't operate only in the US, and that $50 will be translates to 50 pound GB because we all know 'merkins only do monetary conversions when calculating profits and never when pricing, they'll make it in far less than the 27 years.

          Back when I studied the market for a bit and investments were sane, a P/E ratio of 20 was considered high but reasonable.

          1. gnasher729 Silver badge

            Re: on earth makes over $50 worth of taxi travel

            This also assumes they won't have any competition.

            All that is needed to burst the bubble is Google's or Amazon's CEO to say "that's a nice little earner; I'll have a bit of that".

    2. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge
      Joke

      Re: It probably IS worth $41B

      But their real value is in being a totally new disruptive technology that demonstrates how somebody with a smart phone app and a bit of javascript can totally break the monopoly of a $40Bn industry

    3. Chris King

      Re: It probably IS worth $41B

      Only if they're Zimbabwean Dollars ? Hmm, at current exchange rates, that's still a bit on the high side.

  9. JayBizzle
    Go

    Can we get a proper comparison please?

    How many double decker buses will it buy and if stacked on top of each other will they reach the moon?

    Thanks

    1. jonathanb Silver badge

      It could buy 137061 Enviro 400s (non hybrid version), which if stacked on top of each other would reach a height of 589km which is 0.15% of the way to the moon.

      The bus fleet in London is 8765 buses, most of them are Enviro 400s or similar. Some are more expensive Boris Buses, and some are cheaper single deckers.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Billions worth of ...

    Creepiness.. When you look at how this firm also wants to expand on its dodgy data mining, then you know this latest USA Inc wonderboy can't be trusted....

  11. ecofeco Silver badge

    3 words

    Jumped. The. Shark.

  12. Christian Berger

    It'll be different than the previous bubble

    When Facebook and Uber and whatever fails, they will be considered "to big to fail" and bailed out with public money.

    So investors will be able to first turn their investments into hugely inflated "virtual values" and then maybe sell of a tiny bit of them to recoup their investment first, then when the whole thing goes down, they get saved by governments. At the same time they lend the money they got from those governments for their "virtual values" to those governments again, and, if they feel like it, negotiate a 90% debt cut, so they will be seen as heroes.

    So you invest, let's say, a million, then claim the company is worth 100 billions, it goes bust and will be saved with 50 billions (which seems cheap). They give those 50 billions to the government and demand 5 billions back, because they are so nice. Effectively they exchanged a million into 5 billion without any risk or actual productive work.

    This is why investment banking needs to be tightly regulated.

    Ohh BTW in the case of Uber there's a special thing. Some countries, like Germany, have a highly regulated market for person transport services. With new transatlantic treaties like TTIP, Uber could simply sue Germany for fictional losses they believe they made because of those regulations.

  13. boba1l0s2k9

    I've got 2 words for ya

    Nuclear fucking weapons.

  14. PeterM42
    Thumb Down

    Sounds like a scam to me....

    .....I certainly won't be buying any stock if they float. (I don't like watching my money SINK!)

  15. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

    Air Uber

    Uber get into air travel? An app connects travelers with private pilots who fly them in their own planes?

    That is a terrific idea. I mean, I wouldn't use it myself, because I'm sane; but surely it'd get at least a few self-indulgent idiots off the passenger lists for commercial flights, and that benefits everyone else who flies.

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