Tech: Uber said it lost $700 million in Q1 and it's looking for a public company CFO as its head of finance leaves

Uber, the privately held ride-hailing company, said that it lost $700 million in the first quarter.

Uber's head of finance is leaving the company, giving the ride-hailing startup the tricky task of trying to fill two high-level holes in its leadership team as it grapples with multiple scandals and bleeds hundreds of millions of dollars in red ink every quarter.

Uber lost $708 million, excluding stock compensation expenses, in the first three months of the year, an Uber spokesperson told Business Insider. That's a narrower loss than the $991 million that Uber lost in the prior three months, though the company did not provide a year-ago figure.

The privately-held ride-hailing company said its Q1 revenue increased 18% from the fourth quarter to $3.4 billion.

Uber's head of finance, Gautam Gupta, is leaving Uber to join an unspecified startup, Uber said.

Uber said it is launching a search for a CFO with public company experience — a move that could kick off Uber's march to go public.

News of Gupta's departure and Uber's financial results were first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

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Uber, the privately held ride-hailing company, said that it lost $700 million in the first quarter. Read Full Story