Uber’s public image has suffered in the past few weeks, what with its Senior Vice President blaming Sarah Lacy for sexual assault against female passengers, and its CEO following up with a preeeeetty unprofessional and unapologetic tweetstorm.
But that didn’t stop the company from announcing the completion of a $1.2 billion funding round today. An Uber spokesperson said the company’s now valued at $40 billion, according to Re/code.
In a blog post on Uber’s site, CEO Travis Kalanick wrote that the funding “will allow Uber to make substantial investments, particularly in the Asia Pacific region.”
He also detailed Uber’s “tremendous growth” throughout 2014, noting that the company’s now operating in 250 cities across 50 countries—making it six times bigger than it was a year ago. Next year, Mr. Kalanick expects Uber to generate a million more jobs around the world.
“This kind of growth requires investment,” he wrote.
Maybe it’s because he’s suddenly trying to repair his “asshole” image, but the CEO also devoted two paragraphs of the blog post to Uber’s recent “significant growing pains.” He wrote:
This kind of growth has also come with significant growing pains. The events of the recent weeks have shown us that we also need to invest in internal growth and change. Acknowledging mistakes and learning from them are the first steps. We are collaborating across the company and seeking counsel from those who have gone through similar challenges to allow us to refine and change where needed.
Fortunately, taking swift action is where Uber shines, and we will be making changes in the months ahead. Done right, it will lead to a smarter and more humble company that sets new standards in data privacy, gives back more to the cities we serve and defines and refines our company culture effectively.
What exactly do “invest[ing] in internal growth and change” and “making changes” mean? Are people going to be fired, as that New York Times op-ed called for? It’s pretty vague. We’ll have to wait and see.