Key facts
- Travis Kalanick's new robotics company, Atoms, has raised $1.7 billion.
- Kalanick believes only 1% of venture capitalists are truly helpful.
- He suggests 10% of VCs can at least 'do no harm'.
- Kalanick advised founders to create bidding wars for their deals.
- He reflected on his own management style and the optics of his Uber tenure.
Travis Kalanick, the founder of Uber and now robotics company Atoms, has voiced strong opinions on venture capitalists, suggesting that a mere 1% are truly helpful and about 10% meet a basic 'do no harm' standard. Kalanick, whose own career has seen him raise significant VC funding for Uber before a contentious exit, shared these sentiments on David Senra's podcast.
His current venture, Atoms, recently secured $1.7 billion in funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, with Ben Horowitz joining the board. Despite his past struggles, Kalanick is not advising founders to shun VC money entirely. Instead, he suggests honing pitches to create competitive bidding wars among firms, cautioning against excessive detail in a rapidly evolving AI landscape.
Kalanick also reflected on his departure from Uber, acknowledging that while he broke no rules, his management style and tendency to operate close to the line contributed to optics issues. He attributed his intense approach to his prior experience with Red Swoosh, a startup that faced severe financial struggles. His comments echo a broader sentiment, as fellow entrepreneur Mark Pincus also recently aired grievances about his own experiences with venture capital firms.