Khosrowshahi, appearing on CNBC’s “Squawk on the street” that Uber and Softbank CEO Masayoshi son are on the same page as the Softbank’s vision fund 2 prepares to invest in companies that could become competitors with the ride-hailing the giant.
Softbank announced its second megafund, contributing 38 billion dollars of its own money. The company is set to invest in technology and artificial intelligence companies.
The new round of investment will certainly increase competitors but will be beneficial too, Khosrowshahi said.
“I think Masa is a good businessman. He doesn’t throw good money after bad. When he puts in money into companies, it’s because he believes in them and he thinks they are going to be the category leaders.
We are their single largest investors on a global basis, so I think our interest and Masa’s interest are very much aligned” Khosrowshahi said. Uber CEO considers himself lucky to have investors like Masa.
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi called the company’s staggering $5.2 billion loss in the second quarter a once-in-a-lifetime hit as he tries to steer it toward profitability.
In an interview with CNBC’s David Faber and Jim Cramer on Friday, Khosrowshahi shed light on the company’s second-quarter earnings report, in which Uber fell short of analysts’ expectations for both the top and bottom lines. The stock plunged 6.8%.
Khosrowshahi said he’s targeting 30% revenue growth in the back half of the year, compared with net revenue growth of 26% in the second quarter. He added that spending will increase, but it will decline as a percentage of revenue.
He also said that I think we have got very good visibility into our own business as far as the business model and how we can tweak it and how we can drive more efficiency, Khosrowshahi said that we think we can not only survive, but we can really move forward in this business.
Khosrowshahi pushed back on fears that Uber has lost its “founder mentality” after Travis Kalanick, known for his growth-at-all-costs approach, resigned as CEO of the company in 2017
