Uber applies to raise capital in a 2019 initial public offering, in a race with its ride-hailing rival Lyft

Uber Technologies has filed paperwork for an initial public offering (IPO), according to three people with knowledge of the matter, taking a step closer to a key milestone for one of the most closely watched and controversial companies in Silicon Valley.

The ride-hailing company filed the confidential paperwork on Thursday, one of the sources said, in lockstep with its smaller US rival Lyft, which also announced on Thursday it had filed for an IPO.

The simultaneous filings extend the protracted battle between Uber and Lyft, which as fierce rivals have often rolled out identical services and matched each other’s prices. Uber is eager to beat Lyft to Wall Street, according to sources familiar with the matter, a sign of the company’s entrenched competitiveness.

Its filing sets the stage for one of the biggest technology listings ever. Uber’s valuation in its most recent private financing was US$76 billion, and it could be worth US$120 billion in an IPO. Its listing next year would be the largest in what is expected to be a string of public debuts by highly valued Silicon Valley companies, including apartment-renting company Airbnb and workplace messaging firm Slack. Ongoing market volatility, however, could alter companies’ plans.

The IPO will be a test of public market investor tolerance for Uber’s legal and workplace controversies, which embroiled the company for most of last year, and on Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi’s progress in turning around the company.

Khosrowshahi took over just over than a year ago, and has repeatedly stated publicly he would take Uber public in 2019. In August, he hired the company’s first chief financial officer in more than three years.