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>- It is now cheaper for the average person to get a ride to an airport/bar than it was before. Is it? Or are venture capitalists just footing the bill? What

>- It is now cheaper for the average person to get a ride to an airport/bar than it was before. Is it? Or are venture capitalists just footing the bill? Whatever model of "price" you use needs to take into account the fact that not only are Uber and Lyft lighting enormous piles of Saudi money on fire to "gain marketshare" but that the actual drivers are being paid peanuts. This isn't pure win, it's more like Nestle handing out free baby formula in Africa to destroy the "domestic market" so to speak.

icholy 5y ago
I never understood why uber needs 2000+ engineers on staff.
- foobiekr 5y ago
  In order to pretend to be a tech company. Same reason they pretended to work on flying taxis and self-driving cars. The multiple for high tech companies is greater than the multiple for taxi companies or even basic Web2.0-style one-trick app companies.
- nefitty 5y ago
  Their client seems to work on almost any Android and iphone, including a web client, has possibly hundreds of screens, supports multiple languages, regions, currencies…
handmodel 5y ago
What market did they destroy? The money went directly to US engineers and US drivers. The US should be blessed that Saudi is so bad with its money and so willing to subsidize Americans. It destroyed the money of people who had bought up medallions. That's it. Having medallions was not a long term solution when the city can now charge rideshare services for miles/minutes/rides on the road without any hard cap for politically connected incumbent players.
- dralley 5y ago
  > What market did they destroy? The money went directly to US engineers and US drivers. The financially-sustainable transportation market. Companies without endless amounts of capital that actually have to break even or make a profit to keep the lights on. It's not just the medallions, they're literally selling the service itself at below-cost in many places and have been for years.
- TheOtherHobbes 5y ago
  The US may not feel so blessed when the Saudis decide they want some of that money back.
  - handmodel 5y ago
    Huh? Uber is a publicly traded company now. If Saudi sells its shares of Uber the company valuation will dip some but otherwise go unchanged.
  - refurb 5y ago
    It’s not a loan.
vineyardmike 5y ago
> are venture capitalists just footing the bill? Since they're public, its any shareholder and the public market. But that also means they're probably not still raising rounds like they were.

icholy 5y ago

I never understood why uber needs 2000+ engineers on staff.

foobiekr 5y ago
In order to pretend to be a tech company. Same reason they pretended to work on flying taxis and self-driving cars. The multiple for high tech companies is greater than the multiple for taxi companies or even basic Web2.0-style one-trick app companies.
nefitty 5y ago
Their client seems to work on almost any Android and iphone, including a web client, has possibly hundreds of screens, supports multiple languages, regions, currencies…

handmodel 5y ago

What market did they destroy? The money went directly to US engineers and US drivers. The US should be blessed that Saudi is so bad with its money and so willing to subsidize Americans. It destroyed the money of people who had bought up medallions. That's it. Having medallions was not a long term solution when the city can now charge rideshare services for miles/minutes/rides on the road without any hard cap for politically connected incumbent players.

dralley 5y ago
> What market did they destroy? The money went directly to US engineers and US drivers. The financially-sustainable transportation market. Companies without endless amounts of capital that actually have to break even or make a profit to keep the lights on. It's not just the medallions, they're literally selling the service itself at below-cost in many places and have been for years.
TheOtherHobbes 5y ago
The US may not feel so blessed when the Saudis decide they want some of that money back.
- handmodel 5y ago
  Huh? Uber is a publicly traded company now. If Saudi sells its shares of Uber the company valuation will dip some but otherwise go unchanged.
- refurb 5y ago
  It’s not a loan.

vineyardmike 5y ago

> are venture capitalists just footing the bill? Since they're public, its any shareholder and the public market. But that also means they're probably not still raising rounds like they were.