Uber doesn’t have much to do with music besides a Spotify partnership, and the knowledge that Universal Music sold its shares in the company long before Uber’s valuation climbed to $50bn. But for those readers following the hail-a-car startup’s fortunes, Gawker’s leaked financial documents are required reading.
They reveal that Uber’s revenues were $104.4m in 2013, then $54.5m in the first half of 2014 – but that in those periods its net losses were $56.7m and $158.5m respectively. The latter figure hints at an even bigger loss for 2014 as a whole once the second half of the year is factored in. It’s only fair to point out that Uber has likely grown rapidly as a business since the period covered by the leaked financials: in June 2014, CEO Travis Kalanick said it was doubling its revenue every six months. A reminder: in 2014 and 2015 alone, Uber has raised $6.6bn (yes, BILLION) of funding, so it’s hardly on its uppers. This, even more than the likes of Spotify, is a business fuelled by massive investment for global growth.
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