Uber Refutes Report of a $1 Billion Valuation

Minutes after a Reuters report came out, Uber released a definitive statement denying that it has raised any money that would value the transportation startup at $1 billion.

Update: Minutes after a Reuters report came out, Uber released a definitive statement denying that it has raised any money that would value the transportation startup at $1 billion. "Uber has not raised funds or approached a single investor about raising funds since our Series B round in November 2011," CEO Travis Kalanick said in a statement provided to Mashable. "Any reports to the contrary are just completely untrue."

Original: Despite facing legal troubles in pretty much every city where it introduced its cab hailing app, Uber has rasied a new round of funding that puts its valuation at $1 billion, according to Reuters's sources. The legal pushback against the taxi app was a fierce but short battle. After getting banned last year from New York, it earned official approval from the New York Taxi and Limousine commission Friday. It won a similar battle in Washington, D.C., too. The move signaled institutional support for an app that has seen a lot of pushback from taxi lobbies across the country. And, apparently it convinced investors that the service has potential to grow without hitting any detrimental regulatory snags. The car service start-up still faces lawsuits in Boston and Chicago, but it still operates a full slate of vehicle types in those cities.

With a mega valuation like that, the app joins the ranks of the likely over-valued SurveyMonkey and Pinterest. While $1 billion is certainly a lot of money, it's not so huge for a system that hopes to upend the multi-billion dollar taxi industry. New York's cab industry is worth $2.5 billion alone; Boston's is valued at $1 billion. And at least Uber does something useful, unlike social media app clones.