San Francisco-headquartered cab-aggregator Uber infused Rs 51.64 crore (about $7.9 million) into its Indian arms in May, documents filed with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs show.
Mumbai-based Uber India Systems Pvt. Ltd received Rs 45.2 crore ($6.9 million) while Delhi-based Uber India Technology Pvt. Ltd got Rs 6.42 crore ($991,000). The funds came from Uber’s Netherlands-based subsidiaries, Uber Holdings International BV & Uber International BV (for Uber India Systems) and Besitz Holding BV & Mieten BV (for Uber India Technology).
E-mail queries sent by VCCircle to Uber didn't elicit an immediate response.
In its effort to capture markets and acquire customers, Uber has been making losses globally. According to information that it shared with Bloomberg in April, the company's 2016 net revenue stood at $6.5 billion while adjusted net losses were $2.8 billion.
The world’s most-valued technology startup sees India as a vital market after it sold its Chinese operations to Didi Chuxing last year following a fierce battle. In fact, the taxi-hailing company has committed to India the chunk of the $3.5 billion it secured from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund last year.
Following the recent turbulence in its top ranks, questions have emerged around the company's India plans, with some media reports going so far as to say that Uber will put its expansion here on the back burner. However, Uber India president Amit Jain has dismissed such concerns. In a recent media interaction with Mint, he said Uber will continue to invest in India with the same commitment and Travis Kalanick’s exit will have no effect on this. Besides, he claimed that Uber India had grown 2.5 times (both by trips and gross merchandise volume) since June last year.
Kalanick stepped down as CEO of the cab-hailing firm in the face of mounting pressure from investors after a former US Attorney General ran an investigation into the company’s culture and practices. That was triggered by accusations by a former female employee that Uber often looked the other way in sexual harassment cases.
Besides, the company also handled investigations into a rape committed by an Uber driver in Delhi in questionable manner, allegedly seeking her medical records. This only added to the perception of gender insensitivity at the firm.
