Uber raises $1.2 billion

Rideshare company Uber said Friday it raised $1.2 billion from investors in a new round of financing, valuing the company at $17 billion.

“It’s remarkable that it was only four years ago this week Uber started operations in (San Francisco),” Uber said on its blog. “Today, we are operating in 128 cities in 37 countries around the world with hundreds of thousands of transportation providers and millions of consumers connecting to our platform.”

Uber Technologies Inc. makes a mobile app for a rideshare service. Uber and Lyft, another rideshare company, have become popular, especially among younger professionals comfortable with ordering all sorts of services and merchandise on their smartphones.

The services also have come under fire from cab companies. The Chicago City Council in May approved regulations proposed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel but the taxicab industry and a cabdrivers union say the rules don’t go far enough. The ordinance does not regulate ridesharing fares or “surge-pricing” and does not restrict the number of companies, vehicles or drivers that could operate on Chicago streets.

Uber’s expansion would seem assured. Uber and AT&T Inc. have worked out a partnership that includes embedding the Uber app on new AT&T Android phones beginning this summer. AT&T also will be one of Uber’s key wireless providers to drivers on the Uber platform.

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