Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp co-founded Uber as a ride-hailing service in 2009.
The idea began after Camp and friends had difficulty finding a taxi in Paris. They imagined a smartphone-based service that could request a car and eventually split the cost. UberCab launched in San Francisco in 2010, initially connecting users with luxury vehicles.
The company shortened its name to Uber in 2011. Kalanick served as chief executive during a period of rapid international expansion, while Camp remained closely associated with the company's founding and product concept. Uber later expanded beyond car rides into food delivery, freight, and other services.
Uber is sometimes dated to 2010 because that was the year the service launched publicly. The company itself traces its founding to 2009, when the concept and business were established. Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick are therefore the standard co-founders named in company histories.