NEC vs Uber: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: NEC and Uber side by side

1. 1899NEC

   Nippon Electric Company Founded

   Kunihiko Iwadare, the Japanese sales agent for Western Electric, and W.T. Carleton, head of Western Electric's Tokyo branch, establish NEC on July 17, 1899, making it one of the first Japanese companies built on direct ties to an American electrical manufactur…

2. 1958NEC

   Computer Expansion

   NEC expands from communications equipment into computers and enterprise technology.

3. 1982NEC

   C&C Strategy

   NEC promotes the integration of computers and communications as a strategic identity.

4. 1994NEC

   Acquired Packard Bell

   NEC acquired Packard Bell. NEC acquired Packard Bell in 1994.

5. 2009Uber

   UberCab idea takes shape

   Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick developed the Uber idea after discussing the difficulty of getting a reliable ride in Paris and San Francisco.

6. 2010Uber

   San Francisco service launch

   Uber launched service in San Francisco in 2010, proving that riders would pay for visible arrival times, stored payment, and digital receipts.

7. 2011NEC

   PC Joint Venture with Lenovo

   NEC restructures its PC business through a joint venture with Lenovo.

8. 2012Uber

   UberX expands the addressable market

   UberX brought lower-priced rides from personal vehicles into the product mix. That shift moved the company beyond premium black cars, increased driver supply, and opened the larger regulatory debate over licensing, insurance, and worker classification.

9. 2016Uber

   China exit through Didi deal

   Uber exited China by selling its local operation to Didi Chuxing after an expensive subsidy fight. The retreat showed that local payments, regulation, mapping, and distribution could outweigh global capital and brand recognition.

10. 2017Uber

    Dara Khosrowshahi becomes CEO

    Dara Khosrowshahi replaced Travis Kalanick as CEO after a year of cultural, legal, and regulatory crises. The transition mattered because Uber needed a more credible operating and governance model before entering public markets.

11. 2018NEC

    Acquired Northgate Public Services

    NEC acquired Northgate Public Services for $645 million. NEC acquired UK-based Northgate Public Services from private-equity owner Cinven for about 475 million (roughly $645 million) to expand its digital-government software business into the British public se…

12. 2019Uber

    Uber becomes a public company

    Uber completed its initial public offering in May 2019 and later reported roughly $8.0 billion in net IPO proceeds. The listing forced the company to explain its economics to public investors and shifted attention from geographic expansion to profitability.

13. 2020Uber

    Postmates acquisition strengthens U.S. Delivery

    Uber agreed to acquire Postmates for approximately $2.65 billion in an all-stock transaction. The deal added U.S. Delivery density, local merchant relationships, and delivery-as-a-service capabilities as Eats became more important during the pandemic.

14. 2021NEC

    Takayuki Morita Becomes President and CEO

    Takayuki Morita, previously CFO, becomes NEC president and CEO on April 1, 2021.

15. 2021Uber

    Uber One launches

    Uber One launched as a paid membership connecting rides, delivery, and groceries. The product mattered because it gave frequent users a reason to keep more transactions inside one account instead of switching between single-category rivals.

16. 2021Uber

    Uber Freight agrees to buy Transplace

    Uber Freight agreed to acquire Transplace for approximately $2.25 billion. The deal moved Freight deeper into managed transportation and shipper software, a different business from consumer rides but tied to the same broader logistics ambition.

17. 2023Uber

    Waymo partnership brings autonomous rides to Uber

    Waymo and Uber announced a multi-year partnership to make the Waymo Driver available through the Uber platform, starting in Phoenix. The deal showed Uber's post-ATG autonomy strategy: partner with vehicle specialists while keeping the marketplace relationship.

18. 2024NEC

    BluStellar Strategy Launched

    NEC introduces BluStellar, a value-creation model applying AI -- including a partnership integrating Anthropic's Claude -- across its IT Services and Social Infrastructure businesses.

19. 2024Uber

    $44.0 billion revenue year

    FY2024 revenue reached $44.0 billion, up from $37.3 billion in FY2023. The result showed that mobility had recovered after the pandemic while delivery remained a larger and more durable part of the business.

20. 2025Uber

    $52.0 billion revenue and $193.5 billion gross bookings

    FY2025 revenue reached $52.0 billion, gross bookings reached $193.5 billion, and annual trips rose to 13.6 billion. The milestone mattered because it showed growth alongside GAAP operating income, adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow at significant scale.

21. 2026NEC

    FY26/3 Revenue Reaches ~$24 billion (3.5827 Trillion Yen)

    NEC reports higher revenue and record profit margins, with IT Services and Social Infrastructure as the key businesses.

22. 2026Uber

    $14.8 billion Delivery Hero offer and 3,300-role restructuring

    Uber offered €41.50 per share for Delivery Hero in July 2026 and launched the tender in September after Delivery Hero's boards backed it. The same month it announced about 3,300 corporate job cuts to remove management layers.

Acquisitions

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