(Bloomberg) -- Uber Technologies Inc. secured a $1 billion investment from three Japanese companies, ahead of an initial public offering expected next month.

Denso Corp., Toyota Motor Corp. and SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund bought stakes in the self-driving unit, valuing the arm at $7.25 billion, according to a statement. The deal will help Uber, which tallied a $3 billion operating loss last year, to continue funding a very costly endeavor.

Uber publicly filed a prospectus to go public last week and is expected to begin a road show to promote the stock before the end of the month. The offering could value Uber at roughly $100 billion, people familiar with the matter have said. The autonomous car investment is the second major deal struck in the weeks leading up to the IPO. Uber Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi struck a deal to acquire Middle Eastern rival Careem for $3.1 billion.

With Uber remaining the majority shareholder in the autonomous-car venture, public investors will still be exposed to a substantial expense. Uber spent $457 million last year on technology investments, including the self-driving car business. However, the investment will help the company argue that the program is a valuable component of its business.

Together, Toyota and Denso will invest $667 million, while the SoftBank Vision Fund will chip in $333 million, Uber said. SoftBank is already Uber’s largest shareholder, with a 16 percent holding. Toyota also has a sizable stake.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Newcomer in San Francisco at enewcomer@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Mark Milian at mmilian@bloomberg.net, Andrew Pollack

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