# Travis Kalanick

> Travis Kalanick is the co-founder and former CEO of Uber, the ride-sharing giant that revolutionized urban transportation worldwide. After a controversial departure from Uber in 2017, he launched CloudKitchens, a ghost kitchen infrastructure company, and in March 2026 announced Atoms, a robotics venture focused on food, mining, and transportation. Known for his relentless drive and combative approach to regulation, Kalanick has built multiple billion-dollar companies while stirring controversy over workplace culture and aggressive business tactics.

- **Role:** CEO at Atoms
- **Organizations:** Atoms, CloudKitchens, City Storage Systems, Uber (former), Red Swoosh (former), Scour (former), 10100 Fund
- **From:** Los Angeles, California
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** High School Diploma, Granada Hills Charter High School, Computer Engineering and Business Economics (dropped out), University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
- **Known for:** Co-founded Uber and grew it into a global ride-sharing giant valued at billions, Expanded Uber to 65 cities by 2013 from initial San Francisco launch, Built CloudKitchens into a major ghost kitchen infrastructure company

## Career timeline

- **1994** — Started New Way Academy, a test preparation company, at age 18
- **1998** — Dropped out of UCLA to work at Scour, a peer-to-peer file-sharing platform
- **2000** — Scour filed for bankruptcy after $250 billion lawsuit from MPAA, RIAA, and NMPA
- **2001** — Co-founded Red Swoosh, a peer-to-peer content delivery network
- **2007** — Red Swoosh acquired by Akamai Technologies for $19 million
- **2009** — Co-founded Uber with Garrett Camp
- **2010** — Became CEO of Uber
- **2011** — Secured Series A funding of $11 million from Benchmark Capital
- **2013** — Expanded Uber to 65 cities globally
- **2017** — Resigned as Uber CEO following sexual harassment scandals and investor pressure
- **2018** — Launched 10100 venture fund; invested $150 million in City Storage Systems (CloudKitchens parent)
- **2019** — Left Uber board completely, sold 90% of shares for $2.5 billion
- **2025** — Moved from California to Austin, Texas in December
- **2026** — Announced Atoms in March, rebranding CloudKitchens with robotics focus after 8 years in stealth

## Achievements

- Co-founded Uber and grew it into a global ride-sharing giant valued at billions
- Expanded Uber to 65 cities by 2013 from initial San Francisco launch
- Built CloudKitchens into a major ghost kitchen infrastructure company
- Sold Red Swoosh to Akamai Technologies for $19 million in 2007
- Named to Forbes 400 list with $3.6 billion net worth
- Successfully ran Atoms in stealth mode for 8 years before public announcement
- Disrupted traditional taxi industry and changed urban transportation worldwide
- Pioneered peer-to-peer technology with both Scour and Red Swoosh
- Built multiple billion-dollar companies across different industries

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Announced Atoms, a robotics company that absorbed CloudKitchens, focused on food, mining, and transportation after 8 years in stealth mode
- **2026-03** — Revealed plans to acquire Pronto, an autonomous vehicle startup founded by former Uber colleague Anthony Levandowski
- **2026-04** — Returned to San Francisco to publicly launch Atoms and share his vision for specialized robots
- **2025-12** — Officially moved from California to Austin, Texas, avoiding California's proposed billionaire tax

## Links

- Website: https://cloudkitchens.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/traviskalanick/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/travisk
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/traviskal/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/travis-kalanick
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-03