The UBER Story

• By 2012, Uber had launched a new product called UberX for low cost rides. Uber
got into the relatively less affluent market segment. In the same year it
expanded to Canada and the UK. By 2013, people could use their personal cars
for sharing rides on UberX. It became a great combination of the gig economy
and the sharing economy. By the end of 2013, Uber raised $258 million, which
valued it at $3.5 billion. This was 22x the original amount it had raised just two
years back in its first round of funding.
• This blistering growth came at a cost. Journalists wrote articles about the
extremely aggressive culture fuelled by Travis Kalanick. The culture was called
“toxic”. Despite these rumours, Uber raised $1.2 billion at a valuation of $40
billion in the same year. It also launched UberFRESH, which would later pivot to
become the famous food delivery platform UberEats.
• By 2015, even though Uber was still growing at a fast pace, the tide had started
turning against Uber and Kalanick. Protests against Uber became common. Cab
unions protested against Uber for disrupting their business. Uber drivers protest
against Uber for not offering any employee benefits and a minimum wage.
Uber’s rivals like Lyft, Ola, Didi Chuxing and Grab Taxi, formed an alliance as a
means to confront Uber. Despite these issues, Uber again raised $2.1 billion at a
valuation of $65 billion. It had become the highest valued private company in
the world.