Quote · The a16z Show
Travis Kalanick Is Back | Building the Future of Industrial AI
Where this was said
Uber 2017: What a Board Seat Would Have Changed
At 14:21 · chapter starts 12:42
This chapter is the episode's most revealing window into counterfactual history. Kalanick says flatly that 2017 'wouldn't have gone that way' with Ben or Mark on the board — and Horowitz doesn't disagree [1] — Travis Kalanick "Uber's 2017 implosion wasn't inevitable. Kalanick says had a16z been on the board, Uber would be a considerably larger and more central com…" 12:42 . The specifics are damning in their precision: DoorDash held 5% of the food delivery market when Kalanick departed, and losing a tenth of a percent in a week was treated as a crisis. Uber's autonomy program was second only to Waymo and closing the gap, with the network advantage that Waymo lacked. Both men believe Uber would have emerged as the dominant force in food and autonomous vehicles. Instead, Tony Xu survived — and Horowitz offers genuine respect for that achievement, noting that survival in entrepreneurship is itself remarkable.
Uber's 2017 implosion wasn't inevitable. Kalanick says had a16z been on the board, Uber would be a considerably larger and more central company today — likely the leader in food delivery and autonomous vehicles. DoorDash had 5% market share. Uber's autonomy was second only to Waymo. The network was there. It just needed the right governance.
When Kalanick left Uber, DoorDash held only 5% market share in food delivery, and losing even a tenth of a percent in a week was treated as a crisis by Uber.
At the time of Kalanick's departure, Uber's autonomous driving program was considered the second most advanced in the world, trailing only Waymo.
