Uber's latest funding round values ridesharing company at $40 billion

By Abhirup Roy

REUTERS - Uber said it raised $1.2 billion in its latest funding round and had additional capacity remaining for strategic investments, valuing the U.S. taxi service firm at $40 billion.

The funding would allow Uber to invest, particularly in the Asia Pacific region, Chief Executive Travis Kalanick said in a blog post on Thursday. (http://bit.ly/1wz0SxS)

Kalanick did not say who made the investment in the ridesharing company, which counts Goldman Sachs and Google Ventures among its existing investors.

Uber filed to authorize up to $1.8 billion of new Series E preferred stock, Fortune reported. (http://for.tn/1vRBCBD)

The new round of funding valued the company at $40 billion, Uber spokeswoman Nairi Hourdajian told Reuters in an email. She declined to name the latest investors.

CEO Kalanick said Uber would generate over 1 million jobs in 2015.

Uber was valued at $18.2 billion in June when it raised $1.2 billion from mutual funds and investors, including Fidelity Investments, Wellington Management and BlackRock.

(Editing by Savio D'Souza)