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Regarding the on-demand ride sharing market in Saudi Arabia, I'd like to know how big of a company this geography can support. Also, if you can point to any large technology companies that have gone public or been bought that would be great too.
Hello, and thanks for your question about the on-demand ride sharing market in Saudi Arabia, as well as large technology companies that have gone public or have been bought. I have found that Uber, Careem and Brazilian Easy Taxi are the main players in the on-demand ride sharing market in Saudi Arabia. These companies have as much as $3.5 billion in funding, and as many as 70,000 drivers. In regards to large technology companies that have gone public or have been bought I can confirm that there are no examples of this from the past 2 years. Below you will find a deep dive into my research, along with all the details as to how I came to this conclusion.
OVERVIEW
In order to answer your question I have split my research into two distinct areas, the on-demand ride sharing market in Saudi Arabia, and into technology companies who have recently gone public or have been bought. In terms of the ride sharing market I have found data on the largest companies currently operating in this region. I have found details on their funding, size of staff and usage. In regards to technology companies in Saudi Arabia who have recently gone public or have been bought I have provided information on every available example from the past 24 months.
RIDE SHARING MARKET
I have found that the 3 most popular on-demand ride-share companies that currently exist in Saudi Arabia are Uber, Careem and Brazilian Easy Taxi.
Uber has been given an investment from Saudi Arabia of $3.5 billion. It began operating in the capital in 2014 along with Careem, who have seen an investment of $350 million from Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten and Saudi Telecom Company (STC) . More recently Brazilian Easy Taxi has also started operating in the area.
Careem estimates that it will employ around 70,000 people by the end of 2017. Brazilian Easy Taxi are smaller, with around 700 subscribed drivers in Riyadh, but they are catching up with around 30 to 40 drivers registering each day.
Careem also may see a growth in size as its GPS technology is thought to make their cars safer than taxis. Some women who use them like the fact that you cannot tell that the vehicle is not private. In Saudi Arabia women seen using public transport alone are seen as lacking in morals, so the illusion Careem gives of being a private vehicle is valued by many.
Uber is facing threats to its popularity in the region, and may loose its share of the fairly small addressable market size. Around 80% of customers of Uber in Saudi Arabia are women, due to the fact that they are not allowed to get driving licenses. However, they have been loosing support from their female customer base as many women took to social media to announce they were boycotting the company after it received government funding. The move was seen as a step to keep women from ever gaining the right to drive in Saudi Arabia.
TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES
After a through search I can conclude that over the past 2 years there have no reported incidences of technology companies in Saudi Arabia who have gone public or been bought.
CONCLUSION
Overall I have found that Uber, Careem and Brazilian Easy Taxi are the main players in the on-demand ride sharing market in Saudi Arabia. These companies have as much as $3.5 billion in funding, and as many as 70,000 drivers. Careem and Brazilian Easy Taxi are looking like they may grow within this region, whereas Uber faces a boycott from its female customers.
In regards to large technology companies that have gone public or have been bought I can confirm that there are no examples of this from the past 2 years.
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