Uber Raises $1.2 Billion, Valuing the Company at $40 Billion

Uber, the on-demand ride-hailing service, closed a $1.2 billion round of financing Thursday, valuing the company at an eye-popping $40 billion just five years after its debut.

The company authorized a sale of up an additional $600 million in stock on top of the $1.2 billion round, according to a Delaware filing Thursday.

"Millions of people may decide that they no longer need to own a car because using Uber will be cheaper than owning one," Travis Kalanick, chief executive of Uber, said in a blog post Thursday announcing the raise.

Uber, which operates in more than 200 cities around the world, has already raised more than $1.5 billion in venture capital. Uber was last valued at $17 billion just  six months ago, when it raised funding from investors including BlackRock, Google Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

But despite the company's rapid expansion over its five years of existence, Uber is racing to beat other ride-sharing rivals like Lyft and Sidecar, who are also raising large amounts of money to grow quickly in the United States.

Uber also faces competition on international fronts. It is fighting expensive regulatory battles in Europe, Thailand and Vietnam, among other countries. And Wednesday, Softbank announced it had invested $250 million in GrabTaxi, a popular service in Southeast Asia.

The Delaware filing, obtained by VC Experts, was first reported by Fortune.