Uber founder Travis Kalanick has resigned his position as CEO, following a series of controversies and scandals that have recently dogged the ride hailing company.

Five major investors demanded Kalanick's immediate resignation on Tuesday in a letter delivered to the chief executive, according to The New York Times. After "long discussions" with some of the investors, Kalanick agreed to step down, but will reportedly stay on Uber's board and continue to hold the majority of voting shares. Kalanick recently took a leave of absence following the death of his mother.

11374100666 8d95137828 b

Kalanick at LeWeb Paris (Image by Adam Tinworth)

"I love Uber more than anything in the world and at this difficult moment in my personal life I have accepted the investors request to step aside so that Uber can go back to building rather than be distracted with another fight," Mr. Kalanick said in a statement.

Uber's board said in a statement that Kalanick had "always put Uber first" and that his resignation would give the company "room to fully embrace this new chapter in Uber's history." An Uber spokesperson declined to comment further.

The ride-hailing service clearly hopes that news of Kalanick's resignation will be perceived as a company reboot, as it attempts to revive its tarnished image following multiple controversies over recent months.

Just last month it was revealed that the Department of Justice is investigating Uber over its use of "secret" software that allowed its drivers to operate in areas where the company was banned or restricted. The so-called "greyball" software is said to have allowed the company to identify undercover officials and block them from booking rides, in order to prevent them from proving that Uber was operating illegally.

In April it emerged that Apple CEO Tim Cook threatened to pull Uber's app from the App Store in early 2015 after discovering that it was secretly "fingerprinting" iPhones that used the app. Uber said it used the identification method to prevent fraud, despite knowing the tactic is a clear violation of Apple's app privacy guidelines. The revelation came in a New York Times article detailing the ride-hailing service's history of controversial business tactics.

Tag: Uber

Top Rated Comments

macduke Avatar
109 months ago
Uber's board said in a statement that Kalanick had "always put Uber first"
Yeah he did. He put Uber first above their female employees that were harassed, above their drivers, above customer safety and privacy, above Apple's rules for the platform they provide for them, above competitors that they stole trade secrets from, above public safety with their unlicensed self-driving cars that were blowing through red lights, and above the law in general by trying to avoid regulation at all cost. Good riddance. Maybe now they can stop acting like an adolescent locker room full of boys and act like a grown up company, although in all honesty I wish someone else would come in and usurp them. These executives deserve to be punished for running a company in this manner.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
109 months ago
Shady business practices is a sure way to ruin an otherwise promising company. Perhaps they now have an opportunity to turn all the negative perceptions around?
At This point for Uber, it's completely damage control. They certainly can't keep operating the way they are now if they want to survive and have a chance of rebounding from all these allegations. I do think the first step was to have the CEO step down and restructure the company from this point forward.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
smarch Avatar
109 months ago
Victim of the mob. Uber is amazing. What an amazing thing Travis built and I'm sorry to see him driven out by the nonsense that passes for discourse in this tyrannical mob of a world.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarlJ Avatar
109 months ago
Victim of the mob. Uber is amazing. What an amazing thing Travis built and I'm sorry to see him driven out by the nonsense that passes for discourse in this tyrannical mob of a world.
Sexual harassment is not nonsense (there are many reported cases). Breaking laws/rules and going to extreme lengths to avoid getting caught doing so (thus making it crystal clear you know you were doing wrong) is not nonsense (there are many reported cases). Coming up with an innovative new business model is a terrific thing. It does not excuse being horrible people, behaving horribly, and breaking laws. And the sad thing is, they could have built an empire without being horrible.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Analog Kid Avatar
109 months ago
Sexual harassment is not nonsense (there are many reported cases). Breaking laws/rules and going to extreme lengths to avoid getting caught doing so (thus making it crystal clear you know you were doing wrong) is not nonsense (there are many reported cases). Coming up with an innovative new business model is a terrific thing. It does not excuse being horrible people, behaving horribly, and breaking laws.
You've left out the latest and most disturbing: obtaining the medical records of a woman raped by one of their drivers (proven and convicted) then sharing them publicly in an attempt to discredit or intimidate her.

What kind of company behaves like that?!?

And the theft of IP from Google which frankly pales in comparison to the other issues but does raise the question of how innovative a company really is if they've got a $70billion valuation and still need to steal low level design files...

And the sad thing is, they could have built an empire without being horrible.
This, right here, is the key point. To all the people singing the praises of Uber, separate the rather mundane innovation of calling a cab with an app from all the illegal behavior and ask why we couldn't have had one without the other?

If taxi medallion holders lost their investments for the simple sin of being slow to innovate, then why should Uber's investors be able to keep theirs after profiting from years of illegal and unethical behavior?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
0003462 Avatar
109 months ago
Victim of the mob. Uber is amazing. What an amazing thing Travis built and I'm sorry to see him driven out by the nonsense that passes for discourse in this tyrannical mob of a world.
What nonsense is that?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

M6 MacBook Pro: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Monday October 27, 2025 9:15 am PDT by
Apple this month refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to follow in early 2026. However, these machines will represent the final update to the current design, with Apple reportedly developing a completely new version of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iOS 26.1 Beta Liquid Glass Battery Drain Test: Tinted vs Clear Mode

Friday October 24, 2025 2:30 pm PDT by
In the fourth iOS 26.1 beta, Apple added a "Tinted" option that reduces the translucency of Liquid Glass for those who prefer a more opaque look. I saw some comments wondering whether the setting might preserve battery life, so I thought I'd do some testing. Test Settings I did four separate tests using the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and I kept the parameters as similar as possible. Here are the...
ios 26 digital id passport wallet

Apple Says U.S. Passport Feature on iPhone is Coming Soon

Monday October 27, 2025 7:41 am PDT by
You will "soon" be able to add a digital version of your U.S. passport to your iPhone, according to Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. Bailey reiterated that the feature is coming soon during her keynote at the Money20/20 USA conference in Las Vegas on Sunday. On its iOS 26 page, Apple says the delayed feature will be "coming later this year." Apple's...
macos tahoe

Here Are Apple's Release Notes for macOS Tahoe 26.1

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:21 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of macOS Tahoe 26.1, which means the update will likely see a public launch next week. The release candidate includes notes on what's in the update, so we have a full picture of the new features that Apple has included. macOS Tahoe 26.1 adds AutoMix support over AirPlay, improved FaceTime audio...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

iPhone XX? 6 Features Rumored for Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone

Monday October 27, 2025 4:01 pm PDT by
For the 10th anniversary iPhone that came out in 2017, Apple introduced the iPhone X with Face ID, notch, and minimized bezels, providing more display space than ever before. The 20th iPhone anniversary is approaching and Apple wants to take the iPhone X design even further. We're two years away from the 2027 iPhone, but it's tough for Apple to keep major changes under wraps. We've rounded...