Has Uber ‘lost’ one billion dollars in China? Maybe not.

The internet has been losing its mind over the last 24 hours following a speech from Uber CEO Travis Kalanick in which he said the company was “losing over US$1 billion a year in China.”

That certainly doesn’t sound good. But is it bad news for Uber in China? Or just some sloppy wording that’s taken on a life of its own?

Context, context, context

Travis let the comment drop in an interview at Vancouver’s Launch Academy. The full quote, as reported by Betakit is:

“We’re profitable in the USA, but we’re losing over US$1 billion a year in China. We have a fierce competitor that’s unprofitable in every city they exist in, but they’re buying up market share.”

Travis continued, saying “I prefer building rather than fundraising,” but that the competition in China has made it a necessity.

The key word is “losing.” But one man’s losing is another man’s investing – and the 1 billion number is a perfect fit with the figures from Uber’s leaked letter on its China operations which surfaced last summer.

One man’s losing is another man’s investing.

In the letter, written by Kalanick, he says “given our recent success in the region and substantial market gains, we are planning to invest over RMB 7 billion (over US$1 billion) in China in 2015.”

“Invest” sure does sound better than “lose.” And it also gives a bit of credence to Uber’s PR response after Travis’s quote, which was very much in the vein of nothing to see here, all’s going according to plan.

But that Didi though

Any discussion of Uber’s China operations always circles back to the rivalry with Didi Kuaidi. There is often a mismatch between the two companies’ figures and analysis of one another.

See: Uber: we have 35% market share in China. Didi Kuaidi: LOL nope

In his onstage interview, Kalanick assured listeners that Didi, despite being a “fierce competitor,” is still “unprofitable in every city they exist in.” In an email correspondence with Tech in Asia, however, Didi did not agree.

According to a Didi spokesperson, “right before Chinese Lunar New Year (February 7), Didi hit the 400-city target, [and] passed the breakeven point in over 200 of the 400 cities” for its Uber-esque private car service. If these figures are true, then Didi and Uber have a bit of a disagreement on their hands.