Uber Counts Russian Bank As Investor

Here’s something that may not be widely known about ride-hailing app startup Uber: It has investors that are Russian.

That’s according to TechCrunch, which reported Sberbank, the Russian bank, has invested in Uber as part of its international fund it launched a few years ago. TechCrunch reported the Russian bank is now announcing its second ten-year venture fund, which is sized at $200 million–$250 million. The second fund isn’t being financed solely by Sberbank like the first one, which included Uber and eToro. The second fund will include private investors, as well as company investors, according to the report.

The report noted some of the investors are from Russia, but they could also include Chinese investors. The fund is looking to invest in FinTech, artificial intelligence, marketplace and sharing economy startups, as well as cybersecurity companies, noted the report.

While Uber is a very popular service in the U.S., the company’s service is available around the globe. In July, Uber said it completed greater than 2 billion trips on its app just six months after completing its first billion rides. In a post on Facebook, Uber Chief Executive Travis Kalanick said the company reached the 2 billion ride mark on June 18 when 147 Uber rides started at the same time. “These trips happened in 16 countries on five continents, from Costa Rica to Russia and from China to Australia,” said Kalanick. “The longest of the bunch lasted more than an hour as the rider and driver worked their way across Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital. The shortest, a POOL trip in Changsha, China, lasted just three minutes.”

The CEO noted that it took five years to reach its billionth trip and six months to get to the next billion. Uber is hoping the next billion will happen quicker than that.