Uber launched in San Francisco five years ago this week. On Wednesday, June 3, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick gave a special address to employees, driver partners and others reflecting on the past five years and looking ahead to the future.~"These are the people who ultimately built Uber from the ground up: the riders and the drivers who believed in Uber when not many did; who fought for Uber when not many would. And, of course, the inspiring employees here at Uber, who roll their sleeves up and lay it all out there every day because they believe in the mission, and each other. You’re the ones who made it possible for us to serve so many more people in so many more places. And today, just five years later, those original hundred friends and ten drivers have become tens of millions of people in 300 cities across six continents. Every single month, Uber is adding hundreds of thousands of drivers around the world. Already, there are over 26,000 drivers in New York, 15,000 drivers in London, 10,000 in Paris, 42,000 in Chengdu and 22,000, of course, here in San Francisco. These are economic opportunities for men and women who want the chance to earn a better living, it was a chance for a better living and the freedom, as Theresa said, and the freedom to set their own schedule. Just recently, our millionth driver took his first passenger on Uber. And in 2015 alone — this is just in the rest of the year — we expect another million people to drive with Uber."

Our goal is to make every ride welcoming, affordable, and memorable — and we’re just getting started. Our new marketing efforts put it best: we’re all about driving you happy and making sure you enjoy the ride.