In July 2010, Uber went live for the first time in San Francisco before spreading to other American cities. It quickly grew into a global operation, and today offers ride-hailing services in 600 cities. Along with Airbnb, Uber has seized on the rise of smartphone apps to power the sharing economy. But its huge growth has been met with fierce opposition from regulators and traditional taxi firms.

Considered a godsend by many consumers, Uber was accused by licensed taxi drivers of circumventing costly transport regulations to undercut them on price. As the ride-hailing app expanded around the world, so did resistance to its attempts to overtake existing taxi operators. Protests and strikes broke out in dozens of cities, including one in Paris, France, where an Uber vehicle was overturned.

Protests were not the only opposition to face Uber when it launched in China in 2014. Having made its name by offering low prices, it struggled to make inroads in the world's second largest economy, and eventually sold out to a well-connected local competitor, just as the Beijing government loosened the regulatory burden on ride-hailing apps. The failed venture cost it some $2 billion.

At least nine European countries have banned or restricted Uber's operations, including Germany. The firm was forced to rework its business model after facing the ire of French regulators. In December 2017, the European Court of Justice ruled that Uber can be regulated by member states as a taxi service and not, as it argued, as a digital service provider, connecting consumers with drivers.

Regulators in London have terminated Uber's license to operate, citing irregularities in screening drivers and reporting serious criminal offenses. The firm is appealing. Amid complaints of labor rights violations, a British labor court ruled in November 2017 that Uber's drivers are employees – and therefore not self-employed – and ordered the company to pay the minimum wage and cover paid leave.

In June 2017, Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick stepped down after its corporate culture came under scrutiny. While the company faced accusations of dishonesty from global regulators, female employees complained of sexual harassment and an overall sexist and hostile culture at the San Francisco-headquartered firm. After an internal investigation, Uber launched a sweeping reorganization.

Despite the controversies, Uber continues to expand. It now offers car-pooling and food delivery services in several cities. In 2016, it tested the first driverless vehicles in the American city of Pittsburgh. It plans to introduce some 24,000 self-driving cars between 2019 and 2021 although drivers will still sit at the steering wheel, monitoring the vehicle.

Uber faces even more legal and regulatory hurdles for its next venture, which will allow riders to beat urban traffic jams by booking flying cars that will pick them up from skyports on roofs of office blocks. Dallas, Dubai and Los Angeles have given the go-ahead, involving aircraft that look like a cross between a small plane and a helicopter, with fixed wings and rotors. (Author: Nik Martin)