Uber plans to invest $1 Billion more in India

“We filed to authorize this new funding more than two months ago”, an Uber spokeswoman said in a statement.

Online taxi-hailing firm Uber Technologies has closed a new round of funding, pushing its value to around $51bn.

The growth of Uber comes from heavy investment in infrastructure: hiring drivers, setting up systems; mapping and advertising. The San Francisco-based company, led by Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick, is using the cash to expand operations to cities across the globe. The filing is available to the public. Uber has websites for services in Bangalore and New Delhi. Furthermore, an Uber representative has also told The New York Times that the ride-sharing company had set aside as much as $1 billion to grow its business in India where competition is tight.

Uber said India and China are its priority markets.

Uber has grown at a tremendous rate.

Uber has a history of bringing in important partners during funding rounds.

The plan of Uber and Microsoft is to integrate Microsoft’s Cortana voice controlled assistant with Uber so that people can take Uber rides based on a schedule rather than people ordering the cabs at the final moment.

Uber announced back in March that under a “strategic partnership” the Indian Times Internet conglomerate would land an investment of “well under” one billion rupees ($16 million) – Bennett Coleman & Co’s digital unit Times Internet among others runs India’s biggest English language daily, “Times of India”. It’s not the first deal between the two technology companies.

There are a lot of reasons Microsoft might want to foster a close tie-up to Uber, not all of them related to businesses.

Skype video chat and Microsoft’s Bing search engine have been used to power Facebook software.

Currently, Uber operates in more than 310 cities in at least 57 countries. Uber connects travelers with drivers through its smartphone app and is an alternative to traditional taxi services. It has been upsetting regulators too who have sued the company in protest.