Uber Technologies Inc. has been helping people get around for over a decade after initially being founded by American entrepreneurs Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp back in 2009. Since then, the company has expanded from exclusively transportation services to also accepting food delivery orders all across the globe, which has organically granted the corporation to earn $11.14 billion USD in revenue at the end of their last full year (2020). Seemingly looking to inflate their business, even more, current CEO Dara Khosrowshahi recently made the executive decision to begin diving into the Canadian cannabis delivery industry.
A representative from Uber recently released a statement this past Monday, November 22, 2021, that read: “Uber Technologies Inc. will allow users in Ontario, Canada to place orders for cannabis on its UberEats app, marking the ride-hailing giant’s foray into the booming business.” The corporation announced that they have only partnered with one marijuana company, Tokyo Smoke, that currently withholds approximately 50 locations throughout Ontario alone. This will be Uber’s first official step into the overpopulated cannabis industry as they continue their goal of stretching their business to its full potential. While only being approved of this action in Canada, a respected spokesperson from the agency previously claimed, “We will continue to watch regulations and opportunities closely, market by market. And as local and federal laws evolve, we will explore opportunities with merchants who operate in other regions.”
Uber also stated during the announcement, “The partnership will help Canadian adults purchase legal, safe cannabis, helping combat the underground illegal market which still accounts for over 40% of all non-medical cannabis sales nationally,” in reference to their new partnership with Tokyo Smoke. Canada-based marijuana sales are projected to skyrocket over $2 billion, from its total annual income of about $4 billion this year to approximately $6.7 billion by the end of 2026. Only time will tell if these specific numbers are correct estimates, but by the way, events seem to be playing out, it will not be surprising if we see Uber jump in value or leap into the cannabis delivery market throughout other parts of the north.