Misconduct claims hit VC titan.
Ride-hailing service expresses support for victims; venture capitalist denies allegations
Early Uber investor and Hyperloop One co-founder Shervin Pishevar has been accused by at least five women of sexual harassment or assault, according to a report Thursday evening by Bloomberg.
Pishevar is the latest powerful venture investor in Silicon Valley to be accused of sexual misconduct, joining Binary Capital cofounder Justin Caldbeck, DFJ cofounder Steve Jurvetson and 500 Startups founder Dave McClure. Reports of powerful men committing sexual assaults or harassment have shaken not only Silicon Valley, but also Hollywood and Capitol Hill.
According to five women who talked to Bloomberg, Pishevar allegedly made unwanted sexual advances or harassed them. The women accused Pishevar of exploiting a professional connection or offering the prospect of a job or investment to commit sexual assaults.
One allegation Bloomberg focused on revolved around Pishevar and Austin Geidt, who is now head of operations for Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group.
At a 2014 Uber holiday party in its San Francisco headquarters, Pishevar allegedly “placed his hand on her leg and moved it up her dress,” Geidt’s former and current colleagues told Bloomberg. Geidt was not one of the five women who talked to Bloomberg.
An unidentified person — referred to Bloomberg by Pishevar’s spokesman — said she had attended the Uber party, but said she had not seen the alleged misconduct occur. She said it could not have happened as Pishevar at the party was holding a drink in one hand and a leash to a pony he had brought in the other, the article said.
Pishevar’s lawyer told
Bloomberg Geidt and Pishevar enjoy “a friendly, professional relationship.”
In a statement to this news organization Friday, Uber responded with support to the women accusing Pishevar.
“We fully support those who have felt harassed speaking out, whenever and however they choose,” said an Uber spokesperson. “We commend their bravery.”
In other accounts reported by Bloomberg, which allegedly took place from Dublin to Los Angeles and as far back as 2013, the women claimed Pishevar groped and forcibly kissed. In one case, a woman who worked with Pishevar alleged that he booked a single hotel room during a business trip and attempted to perform oral sex on her. In another, Pishevar allegedly showed her photos of female genitalia.
During May in London, Pishevar was accused of raping a woman at a hotel, the Bloomberg article said. Pishevar was arrested, then released and returned to San Francisco without being charged. Pishevar said the rape allegations were untrue and subsequently hired Mark Fabiani, a crisis management expert who has represented Bill O’Reilly, the Los Angeles Chargers football team and the 2000 Al Gore presidential campaign, the article said.
“Shervin Pishevar is the victim of an organized smear campaign, which so far has involved the fabrication of a London ‘police report’. Now, anonymous and untrue stories have suddenly surfaced concerning Mr. Pishevar,” wrote Fabiani
in a statement to this news organization.
Regarding Pishevar’s alleged assault against Geidt, Fabiani wrote that “the assertions regarding (Geidt) have now been directly refuted by an eyewitness to the claimed events, and there are communications sent from the named person herself to Mr. Pishevar which directly undermine any credibility being given to the claims made.”
Fabiani shared two emails between Geidt and Pishevar from 2015 and 2016, which appear to reflect a cordial relationship.
“Just as the London ‘police report’ turned out to be fabricated, we are confident that these anecdotes will be shown to be untrue as well,” wrote Fabiani. “Mr. Pishevar is confident that he will be vindicated.”
Pishevar is a powerful figure in Silicon Valley — and one of its most colorful. He made his name as an early backer of Uber and a friend of now-ousted Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. In August, Pishevar wrote a letter defending Kalanick from a lawsuit by another Uber backer, Benchmark Ventures.
Pishevar also is cofounder of the venture capital firm Sherpa Capital and Virgin Hyperloop One, a startup working on ultrafast tube transportation of goods and people along with Virgin CEO Richard Branson. He also made early bets on Airbnb and Tumblr, which paid off immensely for his wealth and reputation. Pishevar also has donated large sums to the Democratic Party.
Uber, Sherpa Capital and Hyperloop One did not immediately respond to a request for comment.