Uber seeking $1 bn more in latest funding round

Company raised $1.2 bn in financing in Dec, which valued the start-up at $40 bn, one of the highest valuations for a closely held technology start-up

Uber Technologies Inc has expanded a fundraising round by $1 billion amid swelling investor appetite for the mobile car-booking application.

Uber submitted a filing on Wednesday to the Delaware Secretary of State to bump up its fundraising by $1 billion, according to a representative of the San Francisco-based company. That would bring the total in the round, known as the Series E round, to $2.8 billion. Uber had previously collected $1.8 billion of the financing.

Uber has been on a money-raising tear. The company, led by Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick, raised $1.2 billion in financing in December, which valued the start-up at $40 billion, one of the highest valuations for a closely held technology start-up. It recently topped that off with another $600 million. Last month, Uber also closed $1.6 billion in convertible debt from Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s wealth management clients, people with knowledge of the matter said.

"The participation we have seen in Uber's Series E underscores the confidence investors have in Uber's growth," said Nairi Hourdajian, Uber's head of global communication.

Uber's filing on the increase in funding was reported earlier Wednesday by the New York Times.

Expansion plans

The car-booking company plans to use the new money to roll out its service in more cities internationally, to invest in research and development and improving safety, and to expand its UberPool carpooling service, people familiar with the situation said last month. UberPool is currently available in San Francisco, New York and Paris.

Uber, founded in 2009 by Kalanick and Garrett Camp, has expanded to more than 277 cities in 54 countries and has said it was opening in a new town every other day.

The service has disrupted established taxi and limousine companies, which have often responded with protests. Uber has also upset regulators, who have sued or banned the company from California to Brazil.

Venture capital investments last year rose to $52 billion, the most since 2000, with deals focused on a smaller number of companies that are raising bigger sums at higher valuations, according to a Feb. 17 survey by Silicon Valley law firm Fenwick & West.