Big investors not squeamish about Uber

NEW YORK - Venture capital investors don't seem overly concerned about the controversy surrounding Uber.

The fast-growing ride-hailing service said Thursday it has raised $1.2 billion in its latest round of outside funding, valuing the company at $40 billion.

CEO Travis Kalanick said in a blog post Thursday the new financing will allow it to make "substantial" investments, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.

The San Francisco-based company sparked controversy recently after a top executive, Emil Michael, suggested spending $1 million to dig up dirt on a journalist critical of the driver-on-demand company.

It's not the first time Uber has been called out, either for actions by its drivers or its corporate culture. It is also investigating one of its employees for tracking another journalist's ride, which has raised fears that Uber is misusing customers' private location information. A competing ride-sharing company, Lyft, has also accused Uber of trying to poach its drivers.

Kalanick referred to the dust-up following Michael's comments.

"The events of the recent weeks have shown us that we also need to invest in internal growth and change," he said in the post. "Acknowledging mistakes and learning from them are the first steps. We are collaborating across the company and seeking counsel from those who have gone through similar challenges to allow us to refine and change where needed."

Uber's venture backers include Benchmark, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Menlo Ventures.