Travis Kalanick, ex-CEO and founder of Uber who resigned last June after a series of scandals, announced in a tweet that he is launching an investment fund focused on investments in China and India, with the ultimate goal of “large-scale job creation.”
The news came after Kalanick confirmed that he has joined the board of American medical software company Kareo last week. Last month, he reportedly sold 29% of his shares in Uber worth US$1.4 billion to SoftBank Group and a consortium of investors.
“Today I am announcing the creation of a fund called 10100, (pronounced ‘ten-one-hundred’,) home to my passions, investments, ideas and big bets. It will be overseeing my for-profit investments as well as my non-profit work,” he wrote.
The fund will focus on investments in real estate, e-commerce, and emerging innovation in China and India. And non-profit efforts will initially focus on education and the future of cities.
Kalanick has been eyeing on businesses opportunities in China and India. In an interview at a conference in 2016, he said, “I call it the three bays: The Bay Area, Beijing and Bangalore. You’d better start spending time in China.”
Uber officially launched its service in China in July 2014 and merged its China business two years later with Chinese ride sharing leader Didi Chuxing in exchange for a stake in the combined company.
Uber expanded to India in August 2013. After its merger with Didi, Uber has diverted a significant portion of its US$1 billion investment it had originally planned for China to India, according to Indian local media.
Source: China Money Network
