Uber’s fate as a public company has faced so many setbacks recently that even its founder appears to have lost faith in the rideshare company.
Last week, Uber co-founder and ousted CEO Travis Kalanick sold more than $500 million worth of Uber shares as soon as the company’s 180-day lockup period expired, meaning that early investors and insiders were allowed to cash out their holdings.
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The former chief executive sold more than 20 million shares held in a trust from Wednesday to Friday over last week, according to an SEC filing and first reported by CNBC on Monday.
Kalanick ignited his massive sell-off at a time when Uber stock was already at a rock bottom, after the company reported a $1 billion loss for the third quarter.
Since its IPO in May, Uber’s market value had fallen from $70 billion to $45 billion as of last Friday. By the time of Kalanick’s cash-out, the paper worth of his stake in Uber had fallen more than 35% from May.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has assured investors that the stock slump will be temporary and that the company is confident about turning a profit soon.
However, Kalanick doesn’t seem to have patience for a rebound. Lately, the entrepreneur has been busy setting things up and running his new venture, virtual kitchen startup CloudKitchen, which is partly funded by Saudi Arabia‘s sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund (PIF).
