Hail-a-Cab app Uber said it is investing $1 billion in India over the next six to nine months to support growing demand for its services across the country.

Since its launch in Bengaluru in October 2013, India has become the largest market geographically for Uber outside the US, and is seeing 40 per cent month-on-month growth. However, Uber has to contend with stiff competition from Ola, which recently raised $400 million in Series E funding to expand into small towns and cities.

Talking about the investment, Amit Jain, President, Uber India, in a statement said: “Uber has grown exponentially in India, a global priority market for us. With more investment in product, hiring and payment solutions, we expect to grow at an even faster rate and hit over one million trips per day in the next six to nine months.” Stating that India is one of Uber’s big priorities along with China and uberPOOL, Jain further said “all three have the ability to significantly improve people’s lives, as well as build a great business. This is why Uber is committing an additional $1 billion to India, so we can expand and improve our operations.” By 2016, Uber is expected to support over 200,000 jobs in India, empowering driver entrepreneurs from different backgrounds. Earlier in the year, Uber announced its commitment to create 50,000 jobs for women in India by 2020 as driver partners on the back of its partnership with iCare.

Major chunk Uber is present in 18 cities where it has launched bespoke solutions such as uberGO, uberAUTO and cash payments for the Indian market. Attributing Uber’s success to focus, Jain said the company has been rigorous in determining where to launch and where to wait. And the results speak for itself; the top five cities for us in India already contribute over 80 per cent of our total trips.

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