Travis Kalanick, the founder and ousted Chief Executive Officer of Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER), will step down from the board of directors. He has sold all the shares in two months and mobilized $2.7 billion. Travis said Uber is part of his life for the past decade. It is now time for him to focus on philanthropic pursuits and current business because the company has gone public.
Working on kitchens
Considering his recent activities, Travis would be working on commercial cooking spaces that are optimized for food delivery. It is similar to WeWork of Uber. The delivery only cooking spaces are less risky and easy to operate than traditional dining establishments. They require less investment. It has gained popularity in China, but in a nascent stage in Europe and the US.
Controlling stake in City Storage Systems
Travis invested $150 million to acquire a controlling stake in City Storage Systems, a Los Angeles based entity, and the parent company of CloudKitchens in March 2018. Anyone, who is interested in getting started, needs an investment of $20,000 besides two months deposit. The tenants could use the CloudKitchen to attract customers via Grubhub and Postmates, the online ordering platforms.
According to one restauranteur – Eric Greenspan, the CloudKitchen allows creating a delivery only brand quickly. It is more flexible. One could experiment in CloudKitchen because the associated risk of failure is little. You can exit this business if it doesn’t progress as planned.
Travis to focus on China
Travis expects to experiment CloudKitchen business in China where the competition is more. A Beijing based firm – Panda Selected, which is established in 2016, has mobilized funds of $50 million in early 2019. It is a kitchen version of Uber’s WeWork and has a presence in over 120 locations.
Travis is funding the CloudKitchen from his resources. However, he has also mobilized funds of $400 million for this initiative from a sovereign wealth fund based in Saudi Arabia.
Travis readies a recipe for India
Travis is building a team to focus on India with delivery-only kitchens. The City Storage Systems is discussing with real estate developers and restaurant chains in Mumbai.
