Uber is a very popular name today. According to the company, the idea for the Uber service was created by two computer engineers who could not find a taxi on the streets of Paris. It quickly became the world's most valuable startup, taking over personal transportation and food delivery, and Uber became a symbol of the coming of age of the gig economy itself. After 16 years, the company's market capitalisation is expected to reach $166 billion by 2025. Despite many controversies, Uber continues to grow.

The beginning of Uber

According to the company, the idea of Uber was born when computer engineers Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp, who were attending a conference in Paris in 2008, couldn't find a taxi. Initially, the camp wanted to focus on a high-quality "black-car" service for professionals, but Kalanick did not like the idea of owning cars and garages. He agreed to join only if the new venture focused solely on a ride-hailing app.

The two founded the company in San Francisco in 2009 as UberCab, and began introducing it to investors as a faster, more luxurious version of the taxi that could be configured via a mobile phone app. In July 2010, the company received its first ride request in San Francisco. The city's transport authority asked the company to stop offering rides, and even threatened to fine and jail its people. In October of the same year, the company was renamed Uber and received a $1.25 -million capital investment. Two months later, Kalanick became CEO, replacing Ryan Graves.

From 2016 to early 2023, Uber posted nearly $30 billion in operating losses as it tried to capture market share. Its first annual profit as a public company, $1.89 bn, came in 2023.

Important years in the history of Uber

2011
Uber was launched in New York, and also held its first international market in Paris. Two more fundraising rounds were completed: Series A, which raised $11 million, followed by Series B, which raised $37 million, including from Goldman Sachs and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

2012
Uber became available in the US and several European cities. Uber introduced UberX, a low-cost version of its service, which has become the company's most popular offering.

2013
It has started operations in 40 countries, including China, India and Russia. That's about $3.5 billion.

2014
Uber has announced that it is operating in 250 locations around the world. In December, the company raised $1.2 bn from investors including BlackRock and Google Ventures, raising the value to nearly $40bn.

2015
Uber has started operations in 300 cities. Its food delivery service, Uber Eats, debuted in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

2016
Uber sold its operations in China to Didi. She launched an autonomous driving pilot program in Pittsburgh and San Francisco. The San Francisco pilot was abruptly shut down after neither seeking nor receiving approval from the city.

2018
In May, Uber announced that it had surpassed 10 billion total trips, more than doubling from last year. Uber has sold its Southeast Asian operations to rival Grab.

2019
On May 10, Uber began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. On that day, its share price closed down 7.6 per cent. In the months that followed, Kalanick sold off more than $2.5 bn of his shares and withdrew from the company entirely. By the end of the year, Uber shares were down a third from their initial listing price. Investors called the situation a "horror show."

Uber has made a remarkable turnaround in the years since its IPO. After spending tens of millions of dollars to capture market share, the company focused on core operations under Khosrowshahi's leadership. When the pandemic hit ride-hailing hard, Uber Eats kept its customer base active. It also excluded non-core businesses such as autonomous cars.

In addition, the company developed advertising on the app and began offering grocery delivery and other travel services. In February 2024, a week after revealing its first annual profit ($1.89 bn), Uber announced a $7bn share-buyback programme.

By February 2025, Uber shares were trading near an all-time high, nearly double the closing price on the first day of trading in 2019. Additionally, Uber's U.S. rideshare business market share grew from 70% in January 2023 to 76% in December 2024.

Uber has always been mired in controversy, largely because of the company's willingness to violate local laws that could lead to a ban on its operations. It is still banned in some countries. But Kalanick and Camp's vision of influencing urban travel has at least partially come to fruition, and under Khosrowshahi's leadership, the company has been solidified and is now finally making a profit.