US-based ride hailing app operator Uber has begun talks with prospective investors over a series F round sized between $1.5bn and $2bn, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.
The money would be raised at a valuation of $50bn or higher, people familiar with the matter told the WSJ. Social network Facebook, which raised its last private funding at a $50bn valuation, is the only private company to have so far raised money at a valuation that high.
The valuation would be even more impressive considering sources have told the WSJ that Uber is not operating at a profit and its 2014 revenues only totalled about $400m, though Uber has told investors it expects revenue to grow fivefold this year.
Uber operates a ride sharing service that is, by some distance, the world’s largest, though regional rivals have recently sprung up to compete with it in Asia and Latin America.
The company has so far raised at least $5.9bn in debt and equity, securing $2.8bn from a series E round in February this year that valued it at $40bn, and which included $600m from web services provider Baidu.
Internet company Times Internet invested an undisclosed sum the following month as part of a strategic agreement.
Although talks have only just begun, a source told the WSJ the funding could be closed by the end of this month, as Uber has become faster and more discrete in its fundraising.
The cash could be used for acquisitions, as Uber acquired location services technology developer DeCarta in March, and is reportedly preparing a $3bn offer for Here, the mapping subsidiary of communications technology provider Nokia.
Other investors in Uber include internet company Google, Sequoia Capital, TPG, Fidelity Investments, Wellington Management, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Menlo Ventures, CrunchFund, Goldman Sachs, Lowercase Capital, First Round Capital and Innovation Endeavors.