Online cab aggregator Uber is planning to invest $1 billion (Rs 6,400 crore) towards expanding its operations in India, its second largest market after the US.
After launching its services in Bangalore in 2013, the US-based firm has seen a phenomenal growth in the past two years.
"We're committing an additional $1 billion to India in the next six to nine months, so that we can expand and improve our operations, grow into newer cities, develop new products as well as payment solutions, and establish a great support network," Amit Jain, president of Uber India, told Business Standard.
With the new investment, the company expects to grow its daily trips to nearly one million in the next six to nine months, Jain said.
Currently, the San Francisco-headquartered taxi aggregator sees 200,000 trips a day, employing around 50,000 drivers, according to industry estimates.
The earmarked investment is expected to generate nearly 200,000 jobs.
"We have grown exponentially in India, a global priority market for us, which has also quickly become the largest market for Uber outside the US. We continue to see 40 per cent growth month-on-month and with more investment in product, hiring, and payment solutions, we expect to grow even faster," said Jain.
Uber, which is regarded as the world's second most valuable start-up, has come out with agressive plans for India in the past two months. Earlier in July, the firm announced plans to set up a "response and support centre" in Hyderabad, India, which will be its biggest investment outside the US.
The company said that it would invest about Rs 317 crore over the coming five years to build its largest international office in the city. A week before the announcement, Uber said that it had expanded its operations to seven other cities, taking its overall coverage to 18 cities.
With the expansion, its presence in India has become larger than that of its operations in China, Germany and the UK.
Uber's rival Ola, which has operations in nearly 100 cities in India, is currently giving a tough competition to the company. Ola claims to have 80% of the market share after acquiring TaxiForSure in March this year.
