Travis Cordell Kalanick (born August 6, 1976) is an American businessman best known as the co-founder and former chief executive officer (CEO) of Uber, a ride-hailing company that disrupted the transportation industry. He also co-founded the peer-to-peer file-sharing company Red Swooshchers and later founded the 10100 Fund to invest in emerging technologies, including Artificial intelligence and real estate. As of 2025, he serves as CEO of Atoms, the parent company of CloudKitchens, a provider of ghost kitchens.
Kalanick was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the Northridge neighborhood. He showed an early drive for competition seminars, selling knives door-to-door as a teenager and later starting a test preparation company. He studied computer engineering and business economics at UCLA but dropped out in 1998 to pursue a career in the tech startup world.
Early ventures
Scour (1998–2000)
In 1998, Kalanick joined Scour, a multimedia search engine and peer-to-peer file sharing service, working in sales and marketing. He later claimed to be a co-founder, but other co-founders disputed this. Scour faced legal challenges from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which filed a $250 billion copyright infringement lawsuit. The company filed for bankruptcy in September 2000.
Red Swoosh (2001–2007)
Kalanick co-founded Red Swoosh with Michael Todd in 2001 as a peer-to-peer content delivery network. The company faced financial difficulties, including a controversial decision to use payroll tax withholdings to fund operations, which led to internal conflict and Todd's departure. Despite these challenges, investor Mark Cuban provided $1.8 million in funding. In 2007, Akamai Technologies acquired Red Swoosh for about $19 million, earning Kalanick $2 million after taxes.
Uber and the 10100 Fund
Kalanick co-founded Uber in 2010 and served as CEO until 2017, when he resigned amid allegations that he ignored reports of sexual harassment. He sold approximately 90% of his shares for $2.5 billion before leaving the board in December 2019. In 2018, he started the 10100 Fund to invest in sectors like e-commerce and real estate in emerging markets, including China and India. Later that year, he announced a nearly $150 million investment in City Storage Systems, renamed Atoms, and became its CEO.
AI investments and CloudKitchens
Through the 10100 Fund, Kalanick has invested in Artificial intelligence startups, including Groq, a company developing AI inference hardware, and SambaNova, a provider of AI software and hardware. His investment strategy focuses on companies that can benefit from Machine learning and Deep learning technologies. As CEO of Atoms, he oversees CloudKitchens, which uses AI for supply chain optimization and predictive analytics to improve food delivery operations.