While the majority of Western countries are taking drastic economic measures to punish Russia for invading Ukraine, Uber is looking to accelerate the sale of its shares in Yandex.Taxi, Yandex’s transport app, the most large Russian technology firm.
A 2017 collaboration between Uber and Yandex
Uber has been present in the Russian market since 2014. At the time, the American giant entered a country where food delivery and transport services were already dominated by Yandex.Taxi. In 2017, the two companies reached a $ 3.7 billion agreement for Uber to hold 37% of the shares of its Russian counterpart. Since then, Russian users have had the choice between Yandex and Uber apps to find a ride.
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Last year, Uber spun off its stakes in Yandex’s self-driving and delivery units, and also sold part of its stake in Yandex.Taxi. The American firm has also agreed to allow Yandex to buy out its remaining 29% stake in Yandex.Taxi, reports the New York Times.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, has prompted Uber to step up its pace. ” In light of recent events, we are actively seeking opportunities to accelerate the sale of our remaining interests and, in the meantime, we will remove our executives from the joint venture board of directors. ,” the company said in a statement.
Thus, three Uber executives sitting on the Yandex.Taxi board of directors have resigned, while a representative overseeing the divestment has come to replace them.
Uber has been present on the Russian market since 2014. By separating from its shares in Yandex.Taxi, the firm would leave it for good. Photography: Tom Morbey / Unsplash
Economic sanctions and consequences on industries
This decision on the part of Uber is not surprising. Governments, but also companies, are chaining measures to cut Russia off from the world economy. While Google now prevents Russian media from monetizing on its platform, Meta is stepping up efforts to combat the disinformation spread by Russians on the social network. In addition, almost all Russian banks have been blacklisted, while the country has been removed from the SWIFT system.
In addition to economic sanctions, the war in Ukraine will have repercussions on several technological and scientific fields, and could even slow down many advances. For example, the space sector is already turned upside down by this crisis, with in particular the postponement of the dispatch of the ExoMars mission, joint between the European Space Agency and Roscosmos, the Russian space agency.
In addition, the conflict could lead to a shortage of neon, a noble gas essential for the manufacture of semiconductors… A sector which is also hit by a global shortage.