By Barry Eitel
SAN FRANCISCO
Uber announced Monday that it will invest $50 million in building a large facility in India, the company’s largest market outside of the United States.
The outpost will be built over the next five years in Hyderabad, India’s young tech industry hub. Once finished, it will be Uber’s second-largest headquarters after San Francisco and the company claimed that the facility will create “thousands of jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities” for the area.
“This is an outstanding example of what can be achieved when the private and public sector work together with the best interest of local communities,” Siddharth Shanker, the chief of Uber’s Hyderabad operations, continued.
Even though the app-based taxi service has proven to be popular within India, its ride-hailing service still faces intense regulatory scrutiny from city governments, including Hyderabad. Shanker said Uber would be working with the local government to create a new framework for the service within the next four weeks.
The state government of Telangana, which includes Hyderabad, earlier this year warned customers against using Uber because the company has an extremely poor record of following restrictions.
The positive news about the Hyderabad investment comes amid international chaos for the company.
Uber’s South African office on Monday asked Johannesburg police to protect drivers and passengers from intimidation and violence instigated by increasingly angry taxi drivers.
The company suspended its services in France following large protests there last week. That didn’t stop French authorities from arresting two Uber executives who will face trial in September.
The city government of India’ capital of New Delhi also banned Uber after a woman claimed she was raped by one of the company’s drivers last year. Uber still operates in the city despite the ruling.
Analysts predict that Uber’s next round of funding will value the company at $50 billion, which puts it in the running for most valuable venture-funded start-up in history.
