Uber will continue to invest aggressively in India: Dara Khosrowshahi

In his first visit to India, Dara Khosrowshahi, chief of US-based cab hailing firm Uber Technologies, said that India was an important market and the company was here for the long run.

"Markets that are profitable, allow us to invest in markets that are growing. I believe that India for us is a high potential market," he said.

Taking about the speculations of a potential merger with rival Ola, he said that the company will continue to invest aggressively in India and Ola was an “excellent competition”.

"We have to build our product that it is tuned for the Indian consumers. Five years on we will still be in the Indian market. Who knows whether through an acquisition or not…" he said.

Khosrowshahi was brought in by Uber in August after Travis Kalanick resigned as the CEO of the firm.

Kalanick's resignation came in June after the shareholders demanded a change in leadership following reports on bad work ethics and cases of sexual harassment in the company.

Khosrowshahi said that  while accepting the role, he knew about the challenges, however he believed that the company was solving a real world problem.

"We now offer 15 million trips a day on a global basis. I also knew this was a company that had challenges but the thing that we have always knew is that this is great service... mobility and transportation as a service is something that everyone wants on a daily basis," he said.

Born in Iran, Khosrowshahi had migrated to the US with his family when he was nine years old. He belongs to the anti-Trump camp in the tech industry and has actively spoken about the Muslim ban on seven nations, which impacted Expedia customers too. Khosrowshahi holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Brown University.

Speaking about the issue of migration in the US, he said that US is an immigrants' nation at core. "The American dream is the greatest brand in the world... you come to America, work hard, respect the rules and you can make it. It is a short sighted view. I am hoping that over time our country returns to its routes," he said.

Before joining Uber, Khosrowshahi was the chief executive of online travel firm Expedia.