Can you really not think of reasons why they'd want to maximize revenue? Here are a few thoughts, off the top of my head: * room to drop prices at the right moment, when it would most affect competitors * more money in the bank means less pressure to raise money (before today; I'd guess this is the last big round they do). Less pressure means they can wait until they get a better deal for current stakeholders * they don't think price is the determining factor for market share. I'm seeing Uber and Lyft mutually differentiate corporate personality to avoid being commoditized for each other * people tend to judge safety / quality by price -- if they were 50% cheaper, people might be sketched out * maximizing revenue also maximizes money in their driver's pockets -- they need high quality, reliable drivers, and thus need to pay them decent wages.

Those are just a few reasons why they would maximize revenue pre-VC money.