On 21 July 2017 Travis Kalanick, the combative and embattled CEO of ride-hailing giant Uber has resigned under pressure from investors at a pivotal time for the company.
Uber’s board confirmed the move early on Wednesday, saying in a statement that Kalanick is taking the time to heal from the death of his mother in a boating accident “while giving the company room to fully embrace this new chapter in Uber’s history.” He will remain on the Uber Technologies Inc board.
The move comes as Uber was having trouble morphing from a free-wheeling startup into a mature company that can stanch losses and posts consistent profits.Uber India spokeswoman declined to comment on the impact of Kalanick’s exit on the company’s India business.
Uber India spokeswoman declined to comment on the impact of Kalanick’s exit on the company’s India business.
Since its launch in India in 2013, Uber has been spending aggressively on discounts, driver incentives, and increasing supply. Uber was expected to increase spending in India to beat Ola after it sold its China business to local rival DidiChuxing last year.
In a September interview, Uber India president Amit Jain said that Uber’s completed trips had risen from 165,000 a week in January 2015 to 5.5 million at the end of August 2016.
Both Uber and Ola claim market leadership in India; analysts say the two are running neck and neck with each other.
Ola, run by Bhavish Aggarwal, has mopped up about $350 million in fresh funding, over the past six months, led by existing investor SoftBank. Analysts believe Ola’s chances of keeping its position as a market leader have improved after Kalanick’s resignation.
