Since it began operations in 2010, Uber has grown to the point where it now collects over $45 billion in gross passenger revenue, and it has seized a major share of the urban car service market. But the widespread belief that it is a highly innovative and successful company has no basis in economic reality. An examination of Uber’s economics suggests that it has no hope of ever earning sustainable urban car service profits in competitive markets...
Super pumped: the battle for Uber
"A New York Times technology correspondent presents the dramatic rise and fall of Uber, set against the rapid upheaval in Silicon Valley during the mobile era. In June 2017, Travis Kalanick, the hard-charging CEO of Uber, was ousted in a boardroom coup that capped a brutal year for the transportation giant. Uber had catapulted to the top of the tech world yet for many came to symbolize everything wrong with Silicon Valley. In the tradition of Brad Stone's Everything Store and John Carreyrou's Bad Blood, award-winning investigative reporter Mike Isaac's Super Pumped delivers a gripping account of Uber's rapid rise, its pitched battles with taxi unions and drivers, the company's toxic internal culture and the bare-knuckle tactics it devised to overcome obstacles in its quest for dominance. Based on hundreds of interviews with current and former Uber employees, along with previously unpublished documents, Super Pumped is a page-turning story of ambition and deception, obscene wealth and bad behavior, that explores how blistering technological and financial innovation culminated in one of the most catastrophic twelve-month periods in American corporate history"--
Google Takes on Uber With New Ride-Share Service
Google is moving onto Uber’s turf with its own ride-sharing service in San Francisco that would help commuters carpool at far cheaper rates, according to a person familiar with the matter, jumping into a booming but fiercely competitive market.
Uber’s Bundles
Uber had a good strategy, but its crisis meant Lyft had new life and the strategy was no longer workable. Now the company is pursuing something new, even though it is more complicated.
The Fall of Travis Kalanick Was a Lot Weirder and Darker Than You Thought
Silicon Valley CEOs are supposed to be sacrosanct. So how did it all go wrong at Uber?
Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber — Susan Fowler
As most of you know, I left Uber in December and joined Stripe in January. I've gotten a lot of questions over the past couple of months about why I left and what my time at Uber was like. It's a strange, fascinating, and slightly horrifying story that deserves to be told while it is still fresh in
A Driver’s Suicide Reveals the Dark Side of the Gig Economy (Published 2018)
A livery driver facing financial ruin killed himself in front of City Hall to protest the financial devastation wrought by ride hailing services like Uber.
Uber’s Self-Driving Cars Were Struggling Before Arizona Crash (Published 2018)
Company documents obtained by The New York Times show Uber was becoming more aggressive with its autonomous car research, even as the technology faltered.
Did Uber Steal Google’s Intellectual Property?
Silicon Valley was built on job-hopping. But when a leader of Google’s self-driving-car unit joined Uber, Google filed suit. Now the Feds are on the case.
The Uber Conflation
It’s easy to conflate criticism of Uber’s regulatory approach with accusations about the company’s culture. That is CEO Travis Kalanick’s responsibility; it’s also a f…
Big Omaha - Travis Kalanick: 'Whatever it is that you're afraid of, go after it' - Silicon Prairie News
Travis Kalanick is the co-founder and CEO of Uber, a startup working to provide high-quality, on-demand car service booked easily through a user's iPhone or SMS. His previous company, Red Swoosh, was sold for $19 million in April 2007. Prior companies include Scour, the world's first p2p search engine, where Kalanick also achieved the distinction of being sued for $250 billion. After giving a brief background on his childhood, Kalanick jumped …
Uber’s New CEO
Uber has a new CEO, and the reason he is a great choice explain why the Uber job is still an attractive one.
Break Up the Tech Giants? No, Just Level the Field
Facebook, Google and Uber should be held to the same rules as their older rivals.
Uber’s CEO is out because of pressure, not some ethical epiphany from the board
It’s hard to predict exactly how much pressure is needed to affect change, but it’s clear to see when there is enough. And there was finally enough to flush out Uber’s CEO. But let’s not kid oursel…
Mr. Money Mustache, UBER Driver
About two years ago, I switched from taking my personal car to the airport, to hailing Ubers and Lyfts. The math of it was pretty simple: Uber was cheaper than paying for my driving and parking*. A…
Read This Before You Build Uber for X | Y Combinator
Sam is a cofounder of PocketSuite (YC W16). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We still hear it all the time: “I’m building the Uber for X.” That idea – an app that lets consumers get a specific service when they need it, while giving service professionals (“pros”) immediate work – makes complete sense. It worked great for local transportation [https://www.uber.com/] services, so why could it not be applicable across all types of industries? Any
Uber caps employee AI spending after blowing through budget in 4 months | TechCrunch
Uber's cutback has occurred after the company had reportedly encouraged staff to use AI as much as possible.
