Uber’s principal individual shareholders comprise Yasir Al-Rumayyan (3.73%), the Governor of the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Dara Khosrowshahi, the founder and CEO of Uber. There is Morgan Stanley, with 5.12% ownership among the top institutional investors.
How did Uber’s ownership change over the last years?
Shareholders’ ownership in Uber completely changed in 2022, when Softbank, the main shareholder, liquidated its stake to keep up with the mounting losses of its portfolio.
The history of Uber
As Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, pointed out in its financial prospectus.
Uber started at a specific moment in the business world.
The “rise of smartphones, the advent of app stores, and the desire for on-demand work supercharged Uber’s growth and created an entirely new standard of consumer convenience.”
Some context below:
Uber is the very definition of a disruptor. The company, which at one point was the most valuable private startup in the world, has revolutionized the way consumers hail a ride, order takeout from their favorite restaurant, and even earn a living.
With its various transportation and delivery services now available in more than 10,500 cities across 72 countries, it is sometimes easy to forget that Uber started as a humble startup selling limousine rides.
One simple idea
It is December 2008, and friends Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp are attending the LeWeb technology conference in Paris.
Both men were entrepreneurs cashed up after recently selling their respective startups.
One night during the conference, the two could not find a cab in the middle of a snowstorm.
Kalanick credits Camp with the idea for Uber, which at that time consisted of a rideshare limousine service that could be requested from a smartphone app.
UberCab
Kalanick and Camp went their separate ways after the conference, but the latter remained interested in the idea and started work on a prototype with friends Conrad Whelan and Oscar Salazar while he was still CEO of StumbleUpon.
Camp purchased the domain name UberCab.com and convinced Kalanick to come on board as a chief incubator.
In early 2010, the app was tested in New York City with three vehicles, and an official launch was held in San Francisco a few months later.
The service, which was initially more expensive than a traditional taxi, was nevertheless popular in the city among tech employees.
UberCab then became known as Uber after the founders realized that it was not a cab company in the traditional sense.
Around this time, Uber hired its first employee Ryan Graves with a now-infamous tweet from Kalanick explaining that he was looking for a product manager.
Expansion and funding
In May 2011, Uber expanded into New York City and was met with resistance and criticism from the city’s established taxi industry.
Uber then became available in Paris in December as an almost ceremonious nod to the place where it had all started three years earlier.
In the same month, at the 2011 LeWeb technology conference, Kalanick announced a Series B funding round worth $37 million with Jeff Bezos and Goldman Sachs among the backers.
The company launched UberX in July 2012 to open up the platform to non-limousine vehicles such as the Cadillac Escalade and Toyota Prius Hybrid.
This would mark the first time the company would seek out drivers using their own vehicles as transportation.
Perhaps more significantly, UberX would eventually expand into other vehicle models and other forms of transportation, such as scooters and bikes.
In August 2013, Uber expanded into Africa and India with a Series C funding round worth $258 million.
The following year, the first Uber ride was hailed in China – which may prove to be Uber’s largest market in the future.
Recapping the Uber history
- Uber was, at one point, the most valuable startup in the world and has now revolutionized how consumers hail a ride, order takeout, and even earn a living.
- The idea for the company came after co-founders Garrett Camp, and Travis Kalanick struggled to hail a cab in a snowstorm during a tech conference in Paris. Camp and two friends developed a prototype app for a service that would be known as UberCab.
- Uber gained early traction with tech employees after officially launching in San Francisco in 2010. Uber became available in New York City and Paris in 2011 and then in other countries in 2012 and 2013. The launch of UberX signaled a turning point for Uber as it allowed drivers to use their non-luxury vehicles.
Uber companies
Uber Freight
Uber Freight is a subsidiary that provides a digital freight brokerage platform. The platform connects shippers with carriers and helps them manage their transportation needs.
By digitizing the freight industry, Uber Freight aims to make it more efficient, reliable, and affordable.
The platform uses real-time data and machine learning algorithms to match shippers with carriers and optimize routes, resulting in faster and more cost-effective delivery of goods.
Uber Freight is also committed to sustainable transportation practices and has implemented initiatives to reduce carbon emissions.
At present, the company has around $17 billion in Freight Under Management (FUM) and more than 200,000 users.
Uber Health
Uber Health is a subsidiary that provides transportation for healthcare organizations and their patients.
Primarily, the platform aims to provide a reliable and efficient transportation solution for patients who face barriers to accessing healthcare.
Healthcare providers can schedule rides for their patients through the Uber Health dashboard, and patients receive trip information and reminders via text message.
Uber Health also provides a higher level of privacy and security for healthcare-related trips, ensuring that a patient’s personal information is protected.
Jump Bikes
Jump Bikes is a dockless electric bike-sharing system.
The bikes are equipped with electric motors and GPS trackers that enable customers to find and unlock them using the Uber app.
Jump Bikes provides a convenient and affordable transportation option for short trips, reducing congestion and emissions in urban areas.
The bikes are also designed with safety in mind and feature bright colors, front and rear lights, and a sturdy frame. Jump Bikes has expanded rapidly since its launch and is now available in over 30 cities worldwide.
Uber acquired the bike-share start-up JUMP for around $200 million in 2018.
The company later transferred the business to Lime in May 2020, but as part of the deal, Uber led a $170 million investment in Lime and Jump Bikes itself is still available in both the Uber and Lime apps.
Careem
Careem is a transportation network company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The company was founded in 2012 and has since expanded to over 100 cities in 14 countries in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.
Careem offers a variety of transportation services, including ride-hailing, bike-sharing, and food delivery.
The company also provides employment opportunities for thousands of drivers in the regions it serves.
What’s more, Careem has a strong commitment to social responsibility and has implemented various initiatives to support the communities in which it operates.
These include providing free rides for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and partnering with local organizations to support refugees and vulnerable populations.
Uber acquired Careem for $3.1 billion in early 2020 and later launched the digital payment platform Careem Pay in April 2022.
Driazly
Drizly is an online alcohol delivery service that allows customers to order beer, wine, liquor, and mixers for delivery to their doorstep.
The company was founded in 2012 by Nick Rellas, Spencer Frazier, and Justin Robinson and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
Drizly partners with local liquor stores in over 1,400 cities across the United States and Canada to provide a wide selection of products to customers.
Customers can use the Drizly website or mobile app to browse products, place orders, and track delivery.
There are several delivery options such as same-day delivery and scheduled delivery for a future date.
Uber acquired Drizly for $1.1 billion in cash and stock in 2021
Uber Business Model Today
Nowadays, Uber is a platform business that spans through mobility, delivery, and freight.
During the pandemic, the delivery segment played a key role in Uber’s business growth, as the lockdown measures constrained the mobility platform.
Yet by 2022, the mobility platform was back on track.
Indeed, by 2022, gross bookings on the mobility platform passed the delivery platform again, and Uber’s core mobility platform generated $8.36 billion in revenue, compared to Uber Eats’s $6.95 billion in revenue.
The revenue growth of the mobility platform was driven by massive growth in gross bookings post-pandemic and an increased take rate of the core platform vs. the delivery platform.
The main focus of Uber is on the mobility and delivery platform.
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