Uber's Kalanick launches fund, targets China and India

Kalanick, who reportedly sold nearly one-third of his 10% stake in Uber for around $1.4 billion earlier this year by participating in a SoftBank-led tender offer, said the fund would be called 10100 and serve as a vehicle for his “passions, investments, ideas and big bets.” It will be responsible for a combination of for-profit investments and non-profit work.

“The overarching theme will be about large-scale job creation, with investments in real estate, e-commerce, and emerging innovation in China and India,” Kalanick said in a statement posted on his Twitter account. His non-profit efforts will initially focus on education and urban development.

Kalanick presided over Uber’s emergence as the world’s leading ridesharing and transportation network company – with a valuation of around $70 billion – and its aggressive push into markets such as China and India. The China business was eventually sold to local rival Didi Chuxing in 2016 after a costly battle for market share.

Following allegations of sexual harassment by employees and claims that software had been used to bypass regulators, Kalanick resigned as Uber CEO in June 2017. He then became embroiled in a boardroom dispute as shareholders sought to curb his powers. Benchmark Capital went as far as to file a lawsuit against Kalanick, accusing him of fraud.

The lawsuit was dropped once SoftBank completed its investment. The Japanese tech giant – which also has stakes in Didi, Ola, and Grab, Uber’s main competitors in China, India and Southeast Asia – led a consortium that bought a 17.5% interest in the company from existing shareholders at a valuation of $48 billion. In addition, the consortium committed $1.25 billion in fresh capital at a higher valuation.

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