Uber

54 major milestones

American multinational mobility platform providing ride-hailing, delivery, freight and related services; headquartered in San Francisco.

Latest Valuation

$166,000,000,000

4 Funding Rounds

Company Timeline

Years 0-4

Company founded (UberCab)

Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick found Uber (initially "UberCab") in San Francisco. Prototype app built by Camp, Oscar Salazar and Conrad Whelan.

Year 0 • 2009

First employee hired (Ryan Graves)

Ryan Graves becomes the company's first employee (later named CEO in May 2010 and then COO after Kalanick became CEO).

Year 1 • 2010

Beta launch in San Francisco

Uber conducts a beta launch of its app in San Francisco, offering black car service arranged via mobile phones.

Year 1 • 2010

First ride request reported

Company reports receiving its first ride request in San Francisco (July 2010 reported as first request).

Year 1 • 2010

Renamed to Uber and angel investment

UberCab renamed to Uber; company receives early capital investment (~$1.25M angel round) to fund expansion.

Year 1 • 2010

Travis Kalanick becomes CEO

Travis Kalanick replaces Ryan Graves as CEO; Graves becomes COO.

Year 1 • 2010

Series A funding ($11M) and US/Paris expansion

Uber closes Series A (~$11M) and launches in New York and Paris, marking major U.S. and first international expansions.

Year 2 • 2011Valuation: $60,000,000

Series B funding ($37M)

Uber raises a Series B round (~$37M) with participation from investors including Goldman Sachs and Jeff Bezos.

Year 2 • 2011

Launch of UberX (lower-cost option)

Uber introduces UberX, enabling lower-cost rides using drivers' personal vehicles (expanded in subsequent years).

Year 3 • 2012

Rapid global expansion (operating in 65 cities)

By December 2013 Uber operated in dozens of cities worldwide (65 cities reported) and was named USA Today's tech company of the year.

Year 4 • 2013

Valuation reported at about $3.5B

Press coverage around 2013 cites Uber valuation of roughly $3.5 billion as the company scales internationally.

Year 4 • 2013

Years 5-9

Launch of UberPool and Uber Eats introduced

Uber launches shared-ride product UberPool (Aug 2014) and begins expanding into food delivery with Uber Eats (launched in 2014; U.S. expansion continued in 2015).

Year 5 • 2014

Raised $1.2B (Dec 2014) — large private financing

Uber raises approximately $1.2 billion from investors including BlackRock and Google Ventures; media reported valuation around $40B after the round.

Year 5 • 2014Valuation: $40,000,000,000

UberEats U.S. roll-out and 300-city presence

Uber Eats debuts broadly in U.S. cities (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles among early markets); company reports operations in ~300 cities globally by 2015.

Year 6 • 2015

Acquisition: Ottomotto (self-driving truck) for $625M

Uber acquires Anthony Levandowski's Ottomotto (self-driving truck startup) for about $625 million; later legal issues emerged over stolen Waymo trade secrets.

Year 7 • 2016

Autonomous vehicle pilot programs launched

Uber begins self-driving vehicle pilot programs in Pittsburgh and San Francisco; San Francisco pilot is later shut down for lacking approval.

Year 7 • 2016

Sale of China operations to Didi; $1B investment from Didi

Amid fierce competition, Uber sells its China operations to Didi Chuxing; Didi agrees to invest roughly $1 billion in Uber and Uber receives an 18% stake in Didi.

Year 7 • 2016

Acquisition: Geometric Intelligence; formation of Uber AI

Uber acquires machine learning startup Geometric Intelligence; the team forms the initial core of Uber AI research division.

Year 7 • 2016

Greyball investigations and admission

Investigations reveal Uber used 'Greyball' software to evade regulators in some markets; company admits use and pledges to stop regulatory evasion.

Year 8 • 2017

FTC driver-earnings settlement (~$20M)

Uber agrees to pay roughly $20 million to settle Federal Trade Commission-related claims about misleading prospective drivers concerning earnings.

Year 8 • 2017

Susan Fowler sexual-harassment blog published

Former engineer Susan Fowler publicly alleges systemic sexual harassment at Uber, triggering internal investigations and high-level changes.

Year 8 • 2017

Travis Kalanick steps down as CEO

Under investor pressure, Travis Kalanick takes leave and resigns as CEO in June 2017 (later remains a board member until 2019 then leaves).

Year 8 • 2017

Perkins Coie investigation and executive shakeup

Law-firm-led review (Eric Holder involvement) leads to firing of ~20 employees; recommendations limit Kalanick's responsibilities.

Year 8 • 2017

Dara Khosrowshahi appointed CEO

Expedia's Dara Khosrowshahi is named CEO of Uber, beginning a strategic shift toward governance and profitability.

Year 8 • 2017

Settlement with Waymo for alleged trade-secret theft ($245M)

Uber settles claims by Waymo (Alphabet / Google) alleging theft of autonomous-driving trade secrets for about $245 million and licensing terms.

Year 9 • 2018

Sale/merge of Southeast Asia operations to Grab

Uber exits most Southeast Asian markets by merging/ selling operations to Grab in exchange for a reported ~27.5% stake in Grab (March 2018).

Year 9 • 2018

10 billion total trips milestone

Uber announces it has reached 10 billion total trips—more than double the previous year's totals.

Year 9 • 2018

Uber becomes Gold member of Linux Foundation

Uber joins the Linux Foundation as a gold member, signaling commitment to open-source collaboration.

Year 9 • 2018

Years 10-14

Layoffs and organizational changes (2019)

In summer 2019 Uber announces layoffs of ~8% of staff and eliminates the COO position; many engineering/product roles cut later in year.

Year 10 • 2019

Initial Public Offering (NYSE: UBER)

Uber goes public on the New York Stock Exchange (May 10, 2019); shares close lower than offering price; IPO raised roughly $8.1B in primary+secondary proceeds.

Year 10 • 2019Valuation: $82,000,000,000

Acquisition: Cornershop (53% stake)

Uber acquires a majority (53%) stake in grocery-delivery company Cornershop in Oct 2019 to grow grocery services, primarily in Latin America.

Year 10 • 2019

Exit: Sale of Uber Eats India to Zomato

Uber sells its India food-delivery operations (Uber Eats India) to Zomato as part of regional strategy adjustments.

Year 11 • 2020

Acquisition: Careem (~$3.1B)

Uber completes acquisition of Middle East rideshare firm Careem for approximately $3.1 billion, expanding presence in MENA.

Year 11 • 2020

COVID-19 layoffs and cutbacks (May 2020)

Amid the pandemic, Uber cuts over 14% of its global workforce (~3,700 jobs) and closes dozens of offices.

Year 11 • 2020

Sustainability pledge: carbon neutral by 2040

Uber commits to carbon neutrality by 2040 and sets a goal that by 2030 most rides in major markets will be in electric vehicles; commits capital toward electrification.

Year 11 • 2020

Sale: Elevate (air taxi) division sold to Joby

Uber sells Elevate (VTOL/air taxi project) to Joby Aviation as part of refocusing on core businesses.

Year 11 • 2020

Acquisition: Postmates ($2.65B)

Uber completes acquisition of Postmates for approximately $2.65 billion, consolidating U.S. food-delivery market share.

Year 11 • 2020

Sale: Uber ATG sold to Aurora (approx $4B equity); Uber invests $400M

Uber sells its Advanced Technologies Group (self-driving unit) to Aurora for roughly $4 billion in equity and makes a $400 million investment into Aurora.

Year 12 • 2021

Cornershop: Uber becomes sole owner (deal completed June 2021)

Uber acquires the remaining ~47% of Cornershop in June 2021 in a share-based transaction (29 million Uber shares reported).

Year 12 • 2021

New headquarters opened (Mission Bay, San Francisco)

Uber moves to a new multi-building headquarters development in Mission Bay, San Francisco.

Year 12 • 2021

Acquisition: Drizly ($1.1B)

Uber acquires alcohol delivery company Drizly for about $1.1 billion in cash and stock; Drizly later shuttered in early 2024.

Year 12 • 2021

Acquisition: Car Next Door (Australia)

Uber acquires Australian car-sharing company Car Next Door expanding mobility services.

Year 13 • 2022

Security breach discovered (Sep 15, 2022)

Uber discloses a social-engineering-based hack that accessed corporate VPN and intranet; company states no sensitive data was apparently exfiltrated.

Year 13 • 2022

First annual profit as a public company

Uber reports its first annual profit since IPO: company-reported $1.89 billion net (2023), and reports annual operating profit as public company in 2023.

Year 14 • 2023

Years 15-19

Legal / regulatory: MDL for sexual-assault suits established

In February 2024 a multidistrict litigation (MDL) is established consolidating thousands of sexual-assault lawsuits alleging inadequate safety and vetting measures.

Year 15 • 2024

Dutch Data Protection Authority fine (€10M)

In January 2024 Uber was fined €10 million by the Dutch DPA for privacy violations relating to driver data retention and transfers.

Year 15 • 2024

Announces $7B share-buyback program (Feb 2024)

Following its first profitable year, Uber announces a $7 billion accelerated stock buyback program.

Year 15 • 2024

Operational scale metrics reported (~180M MAUs; 6M drivers/couriers)

Uber reported having over ~180 million monthly active users and ~6 million active drivers and couriers and averaging ~36 million trips/deliveries per day, coordinating tens of billions of trips since inception.

Year 15 • 2024

Drizly shut down (early 2024)

After acquisition in 2021, Uber announced Drizly would be shut down in early 2024 as part of strategy changes.

Year 15 • 2024

Large GDPR transfer fine by Dutch DPA (€290M)

In August 2024 Uber was fined €290 million for transferring European drivers' data to U.S. servers in breach of GDPR.

Year 15 • 2024

Market capitalization near $166B (early 2025)

By early 2025 market reports cite Uber's market capitalization near $166 billion following strong post-IPO recovery.

Year 16 • 2025Valuation: $166,000,000,000

FTC lawsuit over Uber One billing (April 2025)

In April 2025 the Federal Trade Commission sues Uber alleging deceptive enrollment and billing practices related to the Uber One subscription service.

Year 16 • 2025

Reported take rates (Q2 2025) for Mobility & Delivery

In Q2 2025 Uber reported take rates of ~30.6% for mobility services and ~18.8% for food delivery (revenue as % of gross bookings).

Year 16 • 2025

Strategic partnerships: Baidu / Lucid / Nuro investments announced (mid-2025)

In 2025 Uber announces partnerships to bring Baidu's Apollo Go autonomous cars to Uber outside the U.S./China and plans to deploy thousands of Lucid vehicles equipped with Nuro Driver™ — part of robotaxi/AV strategy.

Year 16 • 2025