UBER: $40 billion Start-Up ‘Will Replace Car Ownership’

21st Century Wire says…
It’s the latest, greatest Silicon Valley IPO to hit the headlines, now emerging from its humble beginnings in a San Francisco niche market – into a potential global powerhouse brand…
The Switch
As it puts together its latest round of fundraising, Uber has been valued at [40] billion. Many have found that figure eye-popping for a six-year-old ride-on-demand company. But at least some transportation scholars say that that figure isn’t so crazy. To understand why, it helps to think of Uber’s competition in the market not as taxi companies, nor even other alternative transportation options like Lyft or Zipcar.
Instead, says Arun Sundararajan, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, Uber’s value is based on the bet that it will soon ‘become a meaningful substitute for people owning cars.’

This post was published at 21st Century Wire on DECEMBER 8, 2014.