Uber founder sued for fraud by one of earliest investors

ONE of the earliest investors in Uber is suing Travis Kalanick, the ride-hailing firm’s founder, for fraud, accusing him of attempting to “increase his power over Uber for his own selfish ends”.

Benchmark Capital, the venture capital firm, filed the lawsuit in an attempt to force Mr Kalanick to leave the board and give up his right to fill three board seats.

The investor said his “overarching objective is to pack Uber’s board with loyal allies in an effort to insulate his prior conduct from scrutiny and clear the path for his eventual return as CEO”.

The dispute centres around a decision taken last year to expand the number of voting directors on the board from eight to 11. Mr Kalanick was given the right to designate those seats at the time.

However, in June this year, Mr Kalanick resigned, after calls to do so from several of Uber’s most high-profile investors.

On stepping down, Mr Kalanick appointed himself to one of the three added seats.

Benchmark is looking to invalidate the added board seats and, if successful, Mr Kalanick would be kicked off the board.

A spokesman for Mr Kalanick said “The lawsuit is completely without merit and riddled with lies and false allegations.”

Uber declined to comment. Benchmark Capital did not immediately respond to requests for comment.