Uber sells $400 mn stake in UAE’s Careem super app biz

NEW DELHI: Ride-hailing major Uber has sold its stake worth $400 million in Careem, the Middle East-based ride-hailing company that it bought in 2019, to boost its super app business.

Careem will spin out its super app business into a new venture backed with $400 million from the telco giant Emirates Telecommunications (known as e&).

Careem will be broken into two companies, Careem Rides and Careem Technologies, according to Mudassir Sheikha, CEO and Co-founder of Careem.

"I am delighted to announce that we have secured $400 million in investment from e&, the global technology and investments group. This investment will turbo-charge our Super App vision and restart our entrepreneurial journey to build the preeminent technology platform of our region," Sheikha said in a blog post.

Careem Rides will operate a foundational ride-hailing service and will continue to be fully owned by Uber.

About 260 colleagues who directly or indirectly support Careem Rides will serve in Careem Rides under Ashish Labroo, who will start reporting into Uber's Rides leadership, Sheikha announced.

Careem Technologies will operate the Super App along with all other verticals and enablers.

It will be owned jointly by e&, Uber, the three co-founders (who are investing alongside e&), and the colleagues.

"About 1,400 colleagues will be invited to join Careem Technologies, which I will lead as CEO. We will use the new funding and synergies with our new partner (e&) to scale the Super App and build category-leading verticals in all our key markets," said Sheikha.

Some colleagues in Careem Technologies who work on shared infrastructure will continue to support Careem Rides.

Careem was founded in 2012 as a ride-hailing rival to Uber, which acquired Careem in 2019 for $3.1 billion.