Uber plays down financial leak
Uber was recently labelled the world’s most valuable startup at $50 billion. However, recent leaked financial documents allegedly from Uber, have revealed that the firm is operating at a loss of several million dollars each quarter.
The financial reports, published on the website Gawker, show that the firm from 2012 to 2014 grew its losses at a much faster rate than its revenues.
The San Francisco company made a statement to address the reports: “Shock, horror, Uber makes a loss,” it said.
“This is hardly news, and old news at that,” the company said. “It’s a case of business 101: you raise money, you invest money, you grow (hopefully), you make a profit and that generates a return for investors.”
Uber’s casual response might be appropriate, given that the documents also revealed that the company’s gross margin (profit after paying drivers) has grown from a negative number to $20m per year since 2012.
Uber is also the most funded company in the world.
Apple Music reaches 11m trial users
One of Apple’s latest ventures, streaming platform Apple Music, launched at the end of June into a market dominated by players like Spotify. The platform, free for the first three months of use, has picked up 11 million users since it was released.
Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet software and services, said that of that number, 2 million have opted to continue on with the platform and pay for the family plan at $14.99 a month. Cue said Apple were “thrilled with the numbers so far.”
To put things in perspective, primary rival Spotify has 75 million active users, according to the Guardian, with 20 million paying for premium service and the remainder using the platform for free. It remains to be seen whether the other 9 million trial users of Apple Music have subscribed for the benefits of the platform or have simply enjoyed a free service, but even if Apple’s entire base of trial users converts into paying customers (an unlikely feat), the company will still find itself climbing a long ladder to catch up to the industry veteran, Spotify.
Tesla’s security breach
Tesla Motors is on the frontlines of innovation with its flashy but powerful electric vehicles, notably the model S. While a Tesla car has made some traditional vehicle security concerns irrelevant, such as hot-wiring, it seemingly has its own set of vulnerabilities.
For the second time in a month, researchers have been able to penetrate Tesla’s security systems and manipulate its software to affect the car, from shutting it off and forcing it to stop, to completely taking control of the steering.
The company has already announced that it has addressed all the relevant security breaches.