Dara Khosrowshahi - Uber's Bet on AVs, AI, and Building a Super-App - [Invest Like the Best, EP.476]
Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy
Capital Allocation: Invest First, Then Buybacks
Dara explains prioritizing organic investment, AV commitments, and innovation while retaining capital for buybacks.
My guest today is Dara Khosrowshahi, the CEO of Uber. Before Uber, Dara ran Expedia for thirteen years. We start with why he took this job in 2017, and a big part of that story is Daniel Ek, who told him that life is not about happiness, it is about impact.
We talk about what the chaos felt like on day one, and how his family leaving Iran when he was nine shaped the way he handles pressure today.
We spend most of our time on autonomous vehicles and Uber's role as the demand aggregator in a world of physical AI. Dara explains why Uber is a supply-led company, what it will take to win, and why he expects many winners in AVs rather than one.
We also discuss Uber's $10 billion in free cash flow, the push toward a single app for everything, and what he has learned from Allen & Co, Barry Diller and Reed Hastings.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
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Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com).
Timestamps:
(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like The Best
(00:02:29) Intro to Dara Khosrowshahi
(00:03:37) How Daniel Ek Convinced Dara to Take the Uber Job
(00:06:54) Bringing Order to Chaos
(00:09:20) Managing Stress as a Leader
(00:11:22) The Chip on His Shoulder
(00:12:53) Parenting Lessons
(00:17:01) Mandate for AI Adoption
(00:21:21) Uber's Role in Physical AI
(00:22:48) Winning the AV Demand Race
(00:27:41) Partnering vs. Competing with Waymo
(00:32:05) AV Success Unlocks New Markets
(00:35:09) Why Drones Haven't Arrived Yet
(00:36:27) Regional AV Rollout Differences
(00:37:35) Uber Eats International Winning Formula
(00:39:44) Key to Aggregating Supply Well
(00:44:34) Adding Hotels to Uber Platform
(00:50:46) Lessons in Marketing at Scale
(00:52:59) Apps vs. AI Agents in Seven Years
(00:54:08) What Dara Learned from Barry Diller
(00:56:52) What Dara Learned from Allen & Co
(01:00:09) Buybacks vs. Growth Investing
(01:04:17) Lessons from Reed Hastings
(01:05:49) The Kindest Thing
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