The Sharing Economy: A Timeline From 1978 To 2015 [INFOGRAPHIC]

From Bloomberg Briefs:

Nowadays, it’s hard to find more exuberant sharing-economy enthusiasts than investors. Uber, the ride-hailing company, is raising $1.5 billion at a valuation of $50 billion — theoretically making the six-year-old business the equal of Target and Kraft Foods. Airbnb, for home sharing, is valued at $20 billion. Uber competitor Lyft is valued

Uber is reportedly raising money at a $50 billion valuation, which would put it among the largest 500 companies by market cap globally. Airbnb, meanwhile, would be almost as big as Marriott if it raises money at the $20 billion valuation it is reportedly seeking. at $2.5 billion. Instacart, for grocery delivery, is valued at $2 billion and Postmates, another delivery service, is valued at $150 million to $200 million.

Companies say rapid growth supports the valuations. Airbnb claims more than 35 million guests since it launched in 2008 and 1.2 million listings; more than 600 are castles. Dogs can share homes too, on DogVacay, with 20,000 sitters on its platform. It’s hard to figure out if revenue is growing as rapidly at these closely held companies, but a leaked Lyft fundraising document showed that the company took in about $140 million in 2014.

via Barry Ritholtz