Plans of world domination don’t come cheap. As a company present in 460 cities in 69 countries, ride-sharing business Uber recently raised another $3.5 billion from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the largest single investment ever made in a private company, and a significant part of this is coming to India.Amidst growing and fierce competition in a market that has grown in significance and importance to startups and tech companies world around, India is now commonly considered the battle-ground for the giants, be it
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Uber entered the Indian market in 2013 and is currently present in 27 cities. It’s aggressive pricing and convenience of anywhere-anytime mobility has wooed Indian users. The country has also emerged as a major strategic market after the US and China.
Business Insider sat down with
What % of the $3.5 bn raised by Uber from the Saudi Arabic Public Investment Fund comes to India?
There is no specific number. We committed a billion dollars to India last year, and our commitment to India is absolute. We’ll do whatever it takes to invest and grow in India. It’s a strategic market for Uber globally.
The $3.5 bn is testament to the strength of our business globally. The war-chest we have is $11 bn, that’s more than all our competitors combined. You could see additional funds being deployed. The whole premise is we’ll invest as much is needed.
Highlights from your 1 year stint at Uber?
A year back, our business looked very different from what it is today. We were in 11 cities then, now its 27 cities. The number of driver partners has also grown exponentially - we have over 3,50,000 plus driver partners with Uber in India. The team size has grown a lot. We've invested and built an Engineering Centre in Bangalore to tap into the deep talent pool in India. We have set up our Centre of Excellence in Hyderabad which has over 200 employees currently.
On the impact side, the expected time of arrival for an Uber has gone down significantly, and is often less than 5 minutes in most cities. The flexibility and money that working with Uber provides to our driver partners is phenomenal.
Uber Pool wasn't there back then. Today we've launched it in multiple cities globally. Today 25% Uber rides in Delhi and Bengaluru are on UberPOOL.
In the last one year we've also customized the app to suite the demands of the Indian market. We launched cash in India and taken it to multiple new markets across the world. We've also launched bikes and autos in India. From a product perspective we believe our product and technology is far superior to any competitor, be it a Didi,Ola or Lyft.
What were your initial thoughts about the company’s operability in India?
I was working in the US for over 17 years and when my wife and I were in India on a vacation - Uber was a life saver for me. I was sold on how easy it was for me to get around the cities in India using Uber.
That point has been proven with phenomenal number of riders joining the Uber platform because it's affordable, safe and more convenient. What I didn't have a view before I joined Uber was the phenomenal impact this product and service had on the driver community and how it has fundamentally changed the lives of hundred of thousands of drivers in India.
How do you build a core business function keeping in mind the requirements of each state govt.?
We continue to educate governments help understand our point-of-view and tell people why the service is better for the driver-base. If something is beneficial to society, a progressive govt. will embrace it.
We’re in conversation with various governments to help frame regulation for the space.
Have they been receptive, in understanding some of the laws dating back to 1988 need bits of tweaking?
More than tweaking it’s about the policy you create. We’re talking about a new policy for a new space. All our interactions have been inputs about what the new policy should look like.
These discussions take time. The central govt. has created a set of guidelines. We’re working with each state government to make those guidelines into regulations.
What are your core leadership values?
For us it’s about believing you’re doing the right thing. We’re a company of smart people who hire the smartest and let builders build. It’s about creating an environment where everyone has a mission and vision, and a measurable outcome that they’re working towards. We don’t believe in hierarchy, and believe in elimination of bureaucracy at every level.
What is the learning that you want to apply to Indian market?
It’s all about increasing efficiency. If a car’s not being utilized, or has to drive a longer distance to pick up a rider, you’re low on efficiency. That will win in the long term.
Take on the Indian startup ecosystem?
You’re seeing more innovation and people taking risks to become entrepreneurs. That’s very necessary for the country.
You may have seen come changes in valuation in the bigger companies, but overall it’s a healthy ecosystem that has attracted much investment and enthusiasm.
What does it take to land a job in Uber?
You have got to have a passion for the company and what it's trying to solve. You've got to be a hustler, someone who's going to get more done with less. You've got to be optimistic and super-charged, and that's the only way to achieve more than what you expect from yourself.
And of course you need skills that'll help you with the job.