Tech

Uber just got $3.5 billion from Saudi Arabia

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Travis Kalanick
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.  REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

Uber has raised $3.5 billion from a new investor: Saudi Arabia.

The ride-hailing service announced on Wednesday that it has received a cash infusion from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, the main investment fund in the kingdom.

The investment was part of Uber's most recent round of funding, which totaled more than $5 billion and valued the company at $62.5 billion.

The Saudi portion of the funding represents Uber's largest investment from a single investor, and it brings Uber's total balance sheet of cash and convertible debt to more than $11 billion, the company said on Wednesday.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said in a statement that the company is partnering with Saudi Arabia to support its economic and social reforms. Uber first began operating in the kingdom in 2014.

This investment also falls in line with Saudi Arabia's recently announced Vision 2030, the kingdom's plan to reduce its dependence on oil during the next 15 years, Uber said.

Yasir Al Rumayyan, managing director of the Public Investment Fund, will join Uber's board of directors. The deal will not cash out any of Uber's existing investors.

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Avery Hartmans is a senior reporter on Insider's retail team covering the apparel industry and tracking changes in how and why people shop.  She previously worked on Insider's business news desk. Before that, she spent four years on the tech team, covering the consumer tech world and later serving as Insider's tech editor. Before joining Insider, she covered startups for the Pittsburgh Business Times. She has a degree in journalism from Syracuse University. You can contact her at ahartmans@jkmperu.com.