Uber was the ride-sharing company founded in 2009 by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp.
The idea originated with Camp, who became frustrated by the difficulty and expense of finding taxis and private car services in San Francisco. He imagined using a smartphone to request a vehicle directly. Camp discussed the concept with Kalanick, who became involved as an adviser and later helped lead the company.
The service was initially called UberCab. Ryan Graves served as its first chief executive when the company launched, while Kalanick later became CEO. Uber's early model focused on requesting upscale black cars through a mobile app, before expanding into broader ride-hailing and other services.
A frequent mix-up is crediting Kalanick as the sole founder. Camp and Kalanick are both recognized as co-founders, and Graves was an early executive rather than the person named in this question. Lyft, Grab, and Didi Chuxing are separate ride-hailing companies that emerged in different markets.