Re:Toyota Investing $500M in Uber in Driverless Car Pact
by wpietri on Monday August 27, 2018 @03:27PM
(#17853723)
Purely from a financial perspective, I think Uber can't possibly admit that. They are gunning for an IPO at a valuation where they are most definitely selling the dream. That dream has to include autonomous vehicles.
I think it's not nearly as exciting a dream if they're just buying the tech like everybody else. Aside from a strong brand and a lot of customer relationships, Uber doesn't have much in the way of assets. Google's got a stronger brand [1] and a lot more customer relationships, as do many others. If Uber is just one of many companies slapping labels on other people's tech, I'm not sure what makes it worth $75-100bn.
I think it's not nearly as exciting a dream if they're just buying the tech like everybody else. Aside from a strong brand and a lot of customer relationships, Uber doesn't have much in the way of assets. Google's got a stronger brand [1] and a lot more customer relationships, as do many others. If Uber is just one of many companies slapping labels on other people's tech, I'm not sure what makes it worth $75-100bn.
[1] https://www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/list/#tab:rank