Uber Wants to be Amazon
Unprofitable and Facing More Struggles, What Lies in Store For The Future of Uber?
Just like how Amazon is no longer about books, Uber is no longer about booking a car ride.
That is what Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber CEO, described in a talk hosted by the Economic Club of New York. Like how Amazon is establishing dominance in different market sectors, Khosrowshahi believes that Uber can do the same in all areas of transport. It can be private hire cars, taxi, scooter, the subway, freight and even flying vehicles. In his head, he envisions a world of making everything shared, affordable, and a solution to worsening traffic congestion. He also envisions a world of delivering food from any restaurant in under 30 minutes.
The difference is in the means. Rather than build the technology themselves, Khosrowshahi wants to build partnerships instead. It demands a “different attitude”.
Unfortunately, this household name will have a very tough time building that sort of ecosystem out. Khosrowshahi’s lofty goals are pretty much blocked by regulatory and financial obstacles even after Uber pocketed $8.1 billion from its initial public offering. The problem is, they have made 75% of that in losses, reporting a loss of more than $5 billion in the last quarter and losing another $1 billion…
