Billionaire Uber Co-Founder Travis Kalanick Says He Has ‘No Regrets’ Over Uber’s Failed Lyft Acquisition: ‘We Were Very Culturally Different’

Co-founder and former Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE:UBER) CEO Travis Kalanick has said that he does not have any regrets about the ride-hailing giant’s failed bid to acquire rival Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) in 2014.

Lyft’s Culture Was Very Different

In an interview released on Friday by Andreessen Horowitz, Kalanick said that the culture at Lyft was “very different” than Uber. “I wouldn’t do anything different,” Kalanick said. Uber had held talks with Lyft over a possible acquisition, but the talks failed amid disagreements over valuation and other terms.

“I would sit across the table from the guys and it was just clear that we were very culturally different,” he said during the interview.

Kalanick resigned from his position as CEO in 2017 after several major Uber investors demanded his resignation following several months of uncertainty.

Kalanick was also under fire when a former employee alleged gender discrimination and sexual harassment at the company. He remained on the ride-hailing company’s Board of Directors until late 2019. Kalanick was replaced by Uber’s current CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi.

Uber’s Robotaxi Expansion

Recently, Uber has ramped up its Robotaxi efforts, with the company announcing it will expand into the Japanese market later this year. The company signed an operational partnership with Japanese fleet operator Hinomaru Kotsu Co. Ltd. to oversee fleet operations in Tokyo.

Uber also announced that it plans to deploy over 2,000 Pony AI Inc. (NASDAQ:PONY) Robotaxis across multiple cities in Europe following its existing collaboration in Croatian capital Zagreb.

Short-Seller Targets Lyft

Meanwhile, short-seller Bleecker Street Research alleged that Lyft faces multi-billion-dollar liabilities from its legal challenges due to alleged sexual assault claims. The short-seller said that the number of prospective claims could pass 6,000 cases.

Price Action: UBER surged 0.84% to $76.57 during pre-market trading on Monday.

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