Uber Technologies Inc. is on a mission to rebuild its reputation after years of legal fights across the globe, scathing press and a lawsuit filed by Alphabet Inc.'s self-driving arm contributed to its former CEO Travis Kalanick's departure.
Taking to the stage at the annual VivaTech conference in Paris, where taxi drivers' anti-Uber protests turned violent in 2016, the company's new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, put the group's contentious relationship with French authorities aside to outline a new €20 million research and development center focused on plans for a flying taxi service by 2023.
The new hub, known as its Advanced Technologies Center, is part of Uber's Elevate program to build on-demand, urban air transportation and will be the company's first R&D hub outside of North America.
Khosrowshahi said the move underpins an overhaul in Uber's strategic direction and a drastically new vision for the company as it looks to partner directly with cities.
"What's different about the Uber strategy going forward is that we're no longer just about cars. We are [now] about urban mobility," he told delegates, adding that its efforts would also go toward pooling systems, electronic bikes and, in future, flying cars.
The landmark announcement is significant for France, which has waged a number of high-profile legal challenges against the company. As recently as April, Uber lost an appeal in the EU's Court of Justice against an UberPOP ban in France.
But Uber hopes that its legal woes in France, where it says the initial idea for the app was born, and in other jurisdictions will become a thing of the past.
"Paris is a special city for us. It's the first city that we expanded to when we went international," Khosrowshahi said. "We want to build a business here with France, for France, and I think we're on the right track," he added.
Uber is also trying to make itself a more diverse and inclusive place to work for women and underrepresented groups.
"People and culture are unbelievably important," Khosrowshahi said, adding that creating a "new set of values" was a top priority when he joined the business last summer after spending more than a decade as CEO of travel site Expedia.
Last month Uber said the number of minority employees in leadership roles had increased by 2.5% year over year, while the share of female employees was up by 1.9% to 38% overall. It also saw the number of women in tech-related roles grow by 2.5% and women in technology leadership roles grow by 4.3% year over year.
As Uber strives for a more diverse workforce, rehabilitating its relationship with drivers has been equally vital.
"We view our driver partners as entrepreneurs. But they didn't have the social privileges, the social protections that you associate with full-time workers," Khosrowshahi said.
In order to address this, in 2017 the company launched its "180 Days Of Change" campaign, targeting a string of driver-friendly changes including reforming pay transparency, earning potential, rating system, cancellation policy and other key features.
It also introduced tipping and a driver feedback program called UberENGAGE as part of efforts to maintain its existing supply of drivers.
"We think it's an important step socially. But we also think it's going to be good for business long term," the CEO said.
Revamping the governance structure at Uber has helped to smooth the transition.
"When I first came, the board of the company was very divided in terms of control of the business," Khosrowshahi said, adding that new measures such as changing the voting structure of the company helped the board become "united" again.
