打車應用優步和Lyft競相籌資
Ride-hailing rivals Uber and Lyft are racing to raise a combined $1.5bn by the end of the year, as investors become ever more sceptical of the lofty valuations attached to Silicon Valley tech companies.
相互競爭的打車應用優步(Uber)和Lyft正競相籌集資金，至今年底兩家公司合計將籌集15億美元。目前投資者對硅谷科技公司的超高估值越來越懷疑。
Uber is seeking to raise $1bn and Lyft is aiming for $500m as the companies fight to build market share and finance expensive legal and political campaigns to back their business models.
優步正尋求籌集10億美元，Lyft的目標是5億美元，兩家公司不但在爭取擴大市場份額，還在砸重金進行昂貴的法律和政治活動，以支持它們的商業模式。
The fundraisings come at a time when it is becoming harder to gauge how investors will react to lossmaking start-ups. Payments company Square priced its IPO below its indicated range but then saw its shares initially pop 50 per cent when public trading started yesterday. Earlier this year, fund manager Fidelity marked down the value of its stake in messaging app Snapchat.
此輪募資展開之際，投資者對虧損初創企業的反應正變得難以評估。支付公司Square對其首次公開發行(IPO)的定價低於指導價範圍，但昨日開始公開交易後，其股價當即暴漲50%。今年早些時候，基金管理公司富達(Fidelity)調降了其在即時信息應用Snapchat所持股份的估值。
Uber’s initial conversations with investors were based on a valuation of around $70bn. However, that figure has since come down, according to people familiar with the matter. Earlier this year, investors valued Uber at $50bn. Uber declined to comment.
優步與投資者最初的協商是基於700億美元的估值。然而，據知情人士透露，此後這一數字已經下調。今年早些時候，投資者對優步的估值爲500億美元。優步拒絕置評。
Both companies are already among the tech sector’s most aggressive fundraisers, with Uber having raised more than $10bn, a record for a US tech start-up. Lyft is targeting a $4bn valuation ahead of the new fundraising, up from the $2bn level at which it raised money from investors in May.
這兩家公司已經置身於科技行業最活躍的籌款者之列，優步已籌集到逾100億美元，創下美國科技初創企業最高紀錄。Lyft在此輪融資前的目標估值是40億美元，而5月份該公司向投資者籌資時的估值水平爲20億美元。
“The air has gotten pretty thin where these valuations are,” said Max Wolff, chief economist at Manhattan Venture Partners, which brokers transactions in private company shares.
撮合私有企業股票交易的Manhattan Venture Partners的首席經濟學家麥克斯茠爾夫(Max Wolff)表示：“對於這些估值來說，空氣已變得相當稀薄。”
Both companies are heavily lossmaking, common among start-ups in Silicon Valley where growth is prized among early stage businesses. Uber has poured billions of dollars into its international operations to gain global market share.
優步和Lyft都嚴重虧損，這在硅谷初創企業中十分普遍，各方看重的是企業早期階段的增長。優步已對其國際業務投入數十億美元，以爭奪全球市場份額。
Lyft, which has raised a total of $1bn, has invested heavily in US marketing as it tries to steal domestic market share from Uber. The company declined to comment on the fundraising but John Zimmer, co-founder, said: “We are growing faster than Uber in the US.”
Lyft在美國投入巨資開展市場營銷，試圖從優步手中奪取國內市場份額，該公司已總共籌集到10億美元。Lyft拒絕對此輪籌資置評，但聯合創始人約翰倠默爾(John Zimmer)表示：“在美國我們比優步增長更快。”
Yet Uber has revenues 10 times higher than Lyft’s, according to people familiar with the matter. It expects net revenues of about $2bn this year, they said. Lyft said it was taking in $1bn in fares a year, from which the company’s take would be $200m based on its normal cut.
但據知情人透露，優步的營收是Lyft的10倍，優步今年預計淨營收約爲20億美元。Lyft表示今年收取的打車費應爲10億美元，該公司的提成應爲2億美元。
