Uber's CEO says the company plans to go public by the end of next year - here's what needs to happen first

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Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber.

• Uber is on track for a 2019 IPO, the company says, but a few things need to happen first.
• The company wants to improve safety and user experience, but they also need a CFO.
• Some efforts have already been made as far as safety goes.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company is on track for a 2019 IPO, but there are a few things that need to happen first before he feels comfortable going public, he said in an interview with CNBC.

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"We are in a good position in terms of the company's profile in terms of profitability," Khosrowshahi said in the interview. "Margins continue to get better. We have a very strong balance sheet, and I do think that we are on track"

However, Khosrowshahi said Uber needs to hire a chief financial officer first. In addition, he wants to build "the safest mobility platform on Earth," and focus on improving the Uber product, both in terms of safety and ease of use. Uber has recently added a "911" feature that users in an unsafe situation can use, and Khosrowshahi said the company plans to focus on strong background checks on their drivers.

Uber had a strong first quarter, with their net revenue up 67% on-year and losses narrowed nearly 50% on-year.

Khosrowshahi also confirmed that Uber had been in talks with investor Warren Buffett, but the deal fell through.

"Like Warren said, we did have discussions," Khosrowshahi said. "One of my business goals in life has been to get Warren Buffett to invest in something that I'm involved in and, so far, I failed."