Travis Kalanick explains why Uber just sold off its China business

Uber boss Travis Kalanick (far right) with some of the early Uber China team. Photo credit: Kalanick’s Facebook.

Uber and Didi moments ago confirmed the huge news about the buy-up of the Uber China subsidiary. The Californian startup did so with a Facebook post by its boss, Travis Kalanick.

“I sent an email to my Uber China team regarding the merger of Uber China and Didi. I thought I would share here on the news and what has been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had as an entrepreneur,” says his preamble.

Here’s the entire letter:

Team,

I wanted to let you know that we have reached an agreement to merge UberChina with Didi Chuxing. UberChina’s value will represent a 20 percent stake in the combined entity with Uber being Didi’s largest shareholder.

Let me explain why we are doing this.

Three years ago, a small group of us went on a scouting mission to Beijing to see how we could expand into China.

It was a big, bold idea, especially given that Uber was still a relatively small start-up and no one in China had ever even heard of us. And of course, anytime we got into a discussion about our efforts in China, most people thought we were naive, crazy – or both. We saw things differently of course. China is an inspiring country with astonishing opportunity. Many of the world’s mega cities are Chinese, and their thirst for transportation innovation is second to none. Uber’s mission to make “transportation as reliable as running water, everywhere for everyone” resonates especially strongly in China.

Being an entrepreneur means you are an explorer by nature, doing what everyone thinks is impossible but with an optimistic perspective on the unknown. Uber entered this uncharted territory in February 2014, two years after Didi was founded. We were a young American business entering a country where most US internet companies had failed to crack the code, and with a product that needed rebuilding. Our China effort has been one of Uber’s most entrepreneurial because we literally had to start from scratch.

Since launching just over two years ago, we have expanded to over 60 cities in China and we are serving over 40 million rides per week. Our team is now 800 strong, nobly serving their cities. Our philosophy on people has always been to hire the best of the best and our incredible success in China is due to all of you. You are the smartest and most entrepreneurial sons and daughters of China whose mission has been to build a transportation system in every Chinese city, and to serve those cities and to serve the people.

In the startup community in Beijing and across China, our people and our systems for empowering them have set the gold standard for Chinese technology companies. Your efforts — and the efforts of our China engineering and product teams back in San Francisco — have not only been been an inspiration to our thousands of employees globally but to me personally.

However, as an entrepreneur, I’ve learned that being successful is about listening to your head as much as following your heart. Sustainably serving China’s cities, and the riders and drivers who live in them, is only possible with profitability. This merger paves the way for our team and Didi’s to partner on an enormous mission, and it frees up a substantial resources for bold initiatives focused on the future of cities — from self-driving technology to the future of food and logistics.

Uber is a better, stronger company because of our China experience. Didi has been a fierce competitor and I respect all that Didi and their team have accomplished. UberChina certainly rose to the occasion and your hustle and work ethic is the stuff of legend. Working with and learning from all of you in this remarkable China journey has been one of the great experiences in my life.