[sparkling]

Well, i think the main factor is Ubers cost of operation.

Why does Uber need 20k employees (this does not inlude drivers!) to keep the platform running? Even if you want your fancy data science team, have 100 people PR team and the usual nonsense i don't see how you need 20k people to make this work

[blaser-waffle]

Global operations, global deployments. Plus a host of marketing, legal, and other folks that need to be tailored to each environment.

And Uber's big play is to automation and self-driving cars. That's a long range goal and involves building totally new technologies while they hemorrhage cash in the meantime.