Uber has had major losses during its growth efforts around the world, will be profitable within three years, said CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.
Bending the company’s financial trajectory out of the red would be a dramatic shift for the global ride-hailing service, which has been losing billions of dollars per year. Speaking to Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Khosrowshahi said that even as the company would continue to be aggressive about expansion, it was finding ways to be more efficient.
The company is still facing various government investigations, allegations of sexual harassment and increasing competition from rivals around the world. Khosrowshahi said his goal for 2018 is to “get back to normalcy” after the challenges left by former CEO Travis Kalanick.
“Breakneck growth can hide cultural issues,” he said.
Khosrowshahi said the company was investing heavily in autonomous car technology and that it would begin adding the cars in some cities within 18 months. The vehicles will at first only carry passengers on select routes that will expand over time.
The company is also developing vehicles that will fly people to certain destinations within cities that Khosrowshahi predicted will be available for customers within 10 years.
Khosrowshahi has said he wants to take Uber public as early as next year, a process that would open the company’s financial performance up to more scrutiny. The company recently finalized a deal that makes the Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. its largest shareholder.
Uber said Tuesday it hired Bo Young Lee as chief diversity and inclusion officer from insurance provider Marsh & McLennan Cos., a move first reported by technology website Recode. At Davos, Khosrowshahi said the company still has work to do to make its culture more welcoming for women.
