UPDATE: Dec. 4, 3:39 pm: Fortune now reports that Goldman Sachs is raising between $500 million and $1 billion from its "high net worth" clients via placement of convertible notes. The investment will be based on a 30% discount on Uber's eventual IPO price. An Uber IPO is "likely more than a year off."

After a bumpy November, Uber is closing the year by raising another $1.2 billion in financing, bringing the total to more than $2 billion to date.

In a blog post announcing the financing, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said the company is six times bigger than it was a year ago. The financing will be used to invest in new markets, "particularly in the Asia Pacific region." Kalanick has said that Asia is a big focus for Uber. In a blog post this week, the company detailed its progress in expansion in Vietnam.

A report in Fortune this week also said Uber had hired Goldman Sachs to raise "hundreds of millions" of dollars from its clients. That financing is separate from the $1.2 billion announced on Thursday, according to the report. Uber also raised $1.2 billion in June, promoted a then-$17 billion valuation.

Kalanick didn't mention a valuation figure in his blog post, but a rep confirmed that it is now $40 billion, a figure that had been previously reported and that is $15 billion more than Twitter's. Kalanick also wrote that 12 months ago, Uber was in 60 cities and 21 countries. As of December, the company is in "over 250 cities in 50 countries."

The Uber CEO also obliquely addressed the bad publicity wrought by exec Emil Michael's hypothetical proposal about creating a $1 million fund to dig up dirt on journalists who are critical of the company:

This kind of growth has also come with significant growing pains. The events of the recent weeks have shown us that we also need to invest in internal growth and change. Acknowledging mistakes and learning from them are the first steps. We are collaborating across the company and seeking counsel from those who have gone through similar challenges to allow us to refine and change where needed. Fortunately, taking swift action is where Uber shines, and we will be making changes in the months ahead. Done right, it will lead to a smarter and more humble company that sets new standards in data privacy, gives back more to the cities we serve and defines and refines our company culture effectively.

The funding commitment demonstrates that the pr backlash against Uber didn't scare off investors, who were reportedly wooed by Michael. Data from 7Park showed that the controversy did little to dent Uber's growth during those weeks. Branding experts also told Mashable that they expect most consumers to shrug off Ubergate.