Uber received $3.5 billion from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, the biggest investment it has received to date.

Yasir Al Rumayyan, managing director of the sovereign wealth fund, will take a board seat at Uber, which is now valued at $62.5 billion.

According to him, the ride hailing app maker is an “extraordinary company with an inspiring mission”.

“We’ve seen first-hand how this company has improved urban mobility around the world and we’re looking forward to being part of that progress,” he said.

He added that the fund, which controls around $200 billion in assets, is focused on achieving attractive long-term financial returns while supporting Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, “the blueprint for diversifying our economy away from oil.”

Travis Kalanick, Uber’s CEO, said saw the investment as a “vote of confidence” as the business expands its global presence.

Uber wants to see growth of 50 per cent to 60 per cent in trips per month in 2016, according to Majed Abukhater, its head of Saudi operations, Bloomberg reported.

Last week, Toyota said it is making a strategic investment in Uber, which includes letting drivers lease their vehicles from the car maker and make payments through earnings generated by Uber.

Back in December, Saudi billionaire Prince al-Waleed bin Talal invested $104.9 million in Lyft, Uber’s biggest rival in the US.