The company is designing a scooter to keep up with the latest tech industry craze
This spring, Uber moved into a cavernous brick building at San Francisco’s Pier 70, along a postindustrial stretch of waterfront. Shipbuilders occupied the 130,000-square-foot facility in the late 1800s, but today Uber uses it to tinker with self- driving cars, flying taxis, and, most recently, scooters.
In the past several months, Uber has announced plans to integrate bike- and scooter-sharing services on its app, an acknowledgment that cars aren’t always the best form of urban transport. Now the company has quietly begun engineering its own scooter, say people familiar with the plans, which haven’t been previously reported. Jump Bikes, which Uber acquired in April for more than $100 million, is overseeing the project.
A year ago the idea that Uber Technologies Inc. would dedicate resources to scooters would have seemed ludicrous. But the little two-wheelers have become a tech industry fixation since Bird, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based startup run by a former Uber employee, launched a scooter-sharing service there last fall. Bird Rides Inc. and its main competitor, Lime, have raised hundreds of millions of dollars at valuations of more than $1 billion, figures reflecting the excitement around alternative transportation startups that began with the explosion of bike- sharing in China.
Denne historien er fra September 16, 2018-utgaven av Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra September 16, 2018-utgaven av Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Golfing With The Enemy
Did Donald Trump's executives violate the Cuban embargo?
Super-Rich Syrians Wait for War's End
Actor, author, playwright. Gill Pringle tries her hand at unravelling the mystery behind this enigmatic multi-hyphenate
Pam Codispoti
The mastermind behind the industry-shaping Chase Sapphire Reserve Card sets her sights on banking
This Time It's The Economy
President Rouhani’s budget sets offprotests from people angry about unemployment and inflation
Saudi Prince Counts On Support Of Citizens
State-worker salary increases appeal to the people, but policy may throw the budget off track
Stalin's Legacy Is Choking The Ukrainian Economy
The government has resisted pressure to lift a ban on land sales, despite pressure from the IMF and investors
Catastrophe Bonds Survive A Stormy Year
The turbulence of 2017 couldn’t destroy a market for betting against disasters
Riding The West Bank's Credit Boom
Increased consumer lending is creating a bubble in the West Bank
You'd Be Crazy To Buy Pizza With Bitcoin
Speculative fervour makes the cryptocurrency clumsy for commerce
What If The President Loses His Party?
Trump has to figure out a way to work with Republicans in Congress, or the global economy may be at stake