Ride-Sharing, Delivery, and Real-Time Routing

Uber was founded in March 2009 by Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick under the name UberCab, launching its black-car service in San Francisco in 2010; after a cease-and-desist letter from San Francisco taxi regulators objecting to the use of "cab" in the name, the company rebranded simply as Uber later that year. Lyft followed in 2012, growing out of Zimride, a long-distance carpooling service its founders, Logan Green and John Zimmer, had started in 2007. Both companies built their core product around a smartphone matching riders and drivers through continuously updated GPS positions rather than a dispatch radio or street hail.