"Buying $20 bills for $21" does not constitute making money, no matter how many $20 bills you end up with. So, to be clear, I think our disagreement is fairly

"Buying $20 bills for $21" does not constitute making money, no matter how many $20 bills you end up with. So, to be clear, I think our disagreement is fairly narrow. You suggest that the VCs care about the valuation. I agree! But: 1. Uber isn't making money. Its investors no doubt hope that it will make money at some point. But investors are not infallible, and it is entirely possible that Uber will never be profitable, or (more likely) will at some point but profitable, but not profitable enough to justify its lofty valuation. 2. That said, investors don't directly care about whether or not Uber makes money -- they care about its valuation. If Uber starts making money hand over fist, certainly that's one way for its valuation to increase, but there are others. Maybe it will go public and its current investors will cash out and then it will be revealed that robo cars kill Uber and it will crash and burn -- but still be a good investment for current investors. I don't think that's the most likely scenario, but it's possible. Anyhow, the point is, it is not now "making money," and whether it will ever "make money" in very large scales is currently unknown.