On a snowy Paris evening in 2008, Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp had trouble hailing a cab. So they came up with a simple idea—tap a button, get a ride. Garrett Camp has sold StumbleUpon to Ebay, and was handing around with entrepreneur Travis Kalanick. The original pitch involved splitting the costs of a driver, a Mercedes S Class, and a parking spot in a garage, alongside an i-Phone app, of course. My March 2009, Camp developed a prototype named UberCab. In June, Camp was busy full-time running StumbleUpon after spinning it back out of eBay and taking over once again. He hires Kalanick as the UberCab's chief incubator to see the company through its San Francisco launch. In January, 2010 the prototype hit the streets of New York with three cars to test the service. In July, 2010, Uber was initiated in San Francisco and Ryan Graves became CEO in August. In October, 2010, Uber closes a $1.25 million angel financing round. In October, 2010, UberCab receives a C&D order from the San Francisco Metro Transit Authority & Public Utilities Commission of California for seeming to operate like a cab company without the proper licensing. This is when the named changed to be simply Uber. November, 2010 Uber goes live on Android. A change of CEO to Kalanick with Graves remaining on the Board occured in November, 2010. An amazing year for a young company growing exponentially in 2010!
In 2011, investors were eager for a piece of the pie and $11 million Series A lead by Benchmark Capital marked the month of February. Expansion began to other cities including Boston, Chicago, Seattle and Washington, D.C. an even an international presence in Paris. At LeWeb in December, 2011, where the idea was born, Kalanick announces that Uber raised $37 million in Series B from Menio Ventures, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Goldman Sachs. Here is a video from December 7, 2011 at the LeWeb Conference with Travis Kalanick, Co-Founder & CEO of Uber:
What started as an app to request premium black cars in a few metropolitan areas is now changing the logistical fabric of cities around the world. Whether it’s a ride, a sandwich, or a package, we use technology to give people what they want, when they want it.
For the women and men who drive with Uber, our app represents a flexible new way to earn money. For cities, we help strengthen local economies, improve access to transportation, and make streets safer. When you make transportation as reliable as running water, everyone benefits. Especially when it’s snowing outside.
Across borders, cultures, and languages, we’re proud to connect people who need a reliable ride with people looking to earn money driving their car. Julian Chokkattu and Jordan Crook wrote about Uber for TechCrunch.com, stating "Uber epitomizes disruption. The company has changed the way we think about grabbing a ride, incorporating the same technology we take for granted today into a brand new experience for consumers and an opportunity for producers."
Published on May 30, 2014
May 30 (Bloomberg) -- With Uber's cars now operating in 130 cities worldwide and the company looking to raise another round of financing that could value it at more $10 billion, Bloomberg's Willem Marx asks The Big Question: How does Uber make its money? (Source: Bloomberg)
Published on Jan 29, 2015
Few easy steps that will tell you everything you need to know about Uber and its services!
Have you tried using Uber? PDG Ed and Robin Charlesworth experienced their first Uber ride after landing in San Diego for the Past Officers Reunion. It was well-organized with pre-payment (card is on file with the app), no tipping, hop in and hop out of the car. We know exactly where our driver is as he approaches us and know what type of car to look for so we don't hop into the wrong vehicle. The drivers have all been quite courteous, confirm who we are and where we are going. Some of our drivers were young professionals and even young physicians just earning extra money. It is an excellent example of a start-up company growing quickly, even internationally, and using new technology to provide efficient service in today's world.