• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechUber Technologies

Early Uber Investors Criticize Company’s ‘Toxic Patterns’

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 23, 2017, 7:13 PM ET
Uber Technologies Inc. Electric Car Taxi Service In Madrid
The Uber Technologies Inc. ride-hailing service smartphone app sits on a smartphone display in this arranged photograph at a taxi rank in Madrid, Spain, on Friday, Jan. 13, 2017. Ride-hailing service Uber Technologies has launched its first electric car taxi service in Madrid, operating a fleet of Tesla Motors Inc. Model S electric vehicles. Photographer: Angel Navarrete/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBloomberg Bloomberg via Getty Images

Two early Uber investors are upset with the company over how it investigated recent allegations of sexual harassment and workplace abuse.

Venture capitalists Mitch and Freada Kapor wrote a public letter to Uber on Thursday in which the two criticized “toxic patterns” within the ride-sharing startup’s company culture for allegedly ignoring workplace harassment.

The married investors’ letter comes amid a turbulent week for Uber, during which a former employee, Susan Fowler, described several episodes of sexual harassment and failures by the company’s human resources department to do anything about her complaints.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Days after Fowler wrote about her alleged experiences, The New York Times published an explosive look into Uber that detailed a wild and reckless company culture. Current and former Uber employees told the Times that various managers sexually harassed employees, threatened subordinates with violence, and encouraged a dog-eat-dog culture that overlooked discriminatory behavior.

The Kapors described Uber’s culture as being “plagued by disrespect, exclusionary cliques, lack of diversity, and tolerance for bullying and harassment of every form.”

Since first investing in Uber in 2010, the two said they “have tried for years to work behind the scenes to exert a constructive influence on company culture.”

“We are speaking up now because we are disappointed and frustrated; we feel we have hit a dead end in trying to influence the company quietly from the inside,” the couple wrote.

The investors were especially upset about Uber’s decision to conduct an internal investigation into recent abuse and discrimination claims led by a team that includes former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, media mogul Arianna Huffington, and Uber’s recently hired chief human resources officer, Liane Hornsey.

The three leads chosen for the investigation create a conflict of interest for Uber, because Holder has worked with Uber since the summer on another matter, Huffington is a board member, and Hornsey reports directly to Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and his executive team.

For more about Uber, watch:

“This group is not set up to come up with an accurate analysis of the culture and a tough set of recommendations,” the investors wrote.

From the letter:

We are speaking out publicly, because we believe Uber’s investors and board will rightly be judged by their action or inaction. We hope our actions will help hold Uber leadership accountable, since it seems all other mechanisms have failed. As investors, we certainly want to see Uber succeed, but success must be measured in more than just returns. Uber’s response to this particular crisis will be defining for the company, so the stakes are high to get it right. Current, past and prospective employees will be watching, as will drivers and entrepreneurs and countless others, including these investors.

In response to the letter, an Uber spokesperson sent Fortune the following statement co-written by Holder and his law firm partner Tammy Albarran.

“We will leave no stone unturned in our work and all voices will be heard. We will be thorough, impartial and objective, and we are conducting this review with the highest degree of integrity and professionalism.”

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

Latest in Tech

Kiara Nirghin, the co-founder and CTO of the applied AI lab Chima
AIBrainstorm AI
Gen Z founder on ‘AI anxiety’ and being pigeonholed as generation shortcut: that’s the ‘biggest misconception’
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 25, 2025
4 hours ago
Panos Panay, Senior Vice President, Devices and Services, Amazon
AIBrainstorm AI
Amazon’s Alexa chief predicts an end to doom scrolling: the next generation is ‘going to just think differently’
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 25, 2025
5 hours ago
Prakhar Mehrotra smiles as he sits in a yellow chair onstage with "Fortune" on the background screen.
AIFintech
The real AI revolution is going from the information era to the ‘intelligence era,’ Paypal senior VP says. That means your focus should be tokens
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 25, 2025
7 hours ago
InvestingFinance
Goldman Sachs expects layoffs to keep rising—and says investors are punishing the stocks of companies that slash staff
By Lee CliffordDecember 25, 2025
8 hours ago
AIBrainstorm AI
Cursor CEO warns vibe coding builds ‘shaky foundations’ and eventually ‘things start to crumble’
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezDecember 25, 2025
9 hours ago
Big TechTesla
Tesla faces NHTSA probe over Model 3 emergency door handles
By Dana Hull and BloombergDecember 24, 2025
22 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Trump turns government into giant debt collector with threat to garnish wages on millions of Americans in default on student loans
By Annie Ma and The Associated PressDecember 24, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Retail
Trump just declared Christmas Eve a national holiday. Here’s what’s open and closed
By Dave SmithDecember 24, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Real Estate
Mark Zuckerberg gifted noise-canceling headphones to his Palo Alto neighbors because of the nonstop construction around his 11 homes
By Dave SmithDecember 25, 2025
4 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Chinese billionaire who has fathered more than 100 children hopes to have dozens of U.S.-born boys to one day take over his business
By Emma BurleighDecember 25, 2025
6 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Obama's former top economic advisor says he feels 'a tiny bit bad' for Trump because gas prices are low, but consumer confidence is still plummeting 
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 24, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Billionaire philanthropy's growing divide: Mark Zuckerberg stops funding immigration reform as MacKenzie Scott doubles down on DEI
By Ashley LutzDecember 22, 2025
3 days ago

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.