Uber hails Saudi Arabia's $3.5 billion investment

Uber has taken a step closer to its goal of conquering the Middle East with a $3.5 billion (£2.4 billion) cash injection from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

The investment was part of a recent financing round that valued the taxi-hailing app at $62.5 billion and was taken as a “vote of confidence” by Uber boss Travis Kalanick.

As part of the deal, Yasir Al Rumayyan, a managing director at the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, joins Arianna Huffington on Uber’s board. Uber has been credited with improving mobility for women in Saudi Arabia, who are not permitted to drive. About 80% of its 130,000 customers in the country are female, it said.

The controversial app has set its sights on the Middle East and North Africa, with plans to spend $250 million there and outflank rivals like Careem.

The investment is part of Saudi’s efforts to reduce its dependency on oil.