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Google Ventures is a major investor in Uber - does Google often invest in companies that they go on to compete with?

• blister 12y ago
  If they can build an entire fleet of automated cars? Abso-freaking-lutely. How much would you be willing to pay annually to not have to own a car but have one available at your fingertips at any time? My car payment + insurance comes to be about $7000/year. Throw in gas prices and we're probably at around $10,000 per year for my vehicle. Factor in my girlfriend and our household is at around $20k. If Google can charge me $10k-$15k annually to not own a car but be able to have it available all the time? What's $10k * 137,000,000? [1] At those levels, the failed Uber experiment can be a whimsical write-off. Or perhaps it's a strategic venture to handle some of these pesky regulations we're always talking about Uber fighting. I don't want to own a car. I just want to have the freedom to be mobile at a moments notice. [1]: http://cars.lovetoknow.com/Car_Ownership_Statistics http://cars.lovetoknow.com/Car_Ownership_Statistics