Uber is now the world’s most valuable startup at nearly $51 billion

Uber Technologies Inc. has closed a new round of funding valuing the five-year-old ride-hailing company at close to $51 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, equaling Facebook Inc.’s record for a private venture-backed startup. Uber raised close to $1 billion in the round, one of the people said, bringing its total funding to more than $5 billion. The San Francisco company initially had briefed investors on a plan to raise between $1.5 billion and $2 billion in the round, The Wall Street Journal reported in May. Investors in the latest round include Microsoft Corp. and the investment arm of Indian media conglomerate Bennett Coleman & Co., another person familiar with the matter said, as Uber seeks allies to help bolster its technology and expand in large markets outside the U.S. An Uber spokeswoman said the company had filed a document in Delaware in May to authorize the latest funding round. “We aren’t commenting on additional speculation,” the spokeswoman said.