Uber co-founder’s startup says it was victim of arson

Uber Technologies Inc. co-founder Travis Kalanick’s secretive ghost kitchen startup said it was the victim of a “suspected arson” in a series of Twitter posts confirmed by the company’s spokeswoman.

The startup, which builds kitchens to cook food for delivery services, said that two separate fires had been started at the same facility in San Francisco, one early Monday morning and another Tuesday evening at the same facility.

“The Police told us they are investigating the first fire as suspected arson. Before the cameras were destroyed an image of the intruder was captured,” CloudKitchens said in a tweet, followed by a picture of the suspected arsonist in a purple hoodie.

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The damage was “contained by the quick response of the SF Fire Department,” the company said. “Fortunately there was only minor damage to a single interior wall in the facility. Looking to have the wall patched and be back up and running tomorrow.”

Kalanick has kept his CloudKitchens startup essentially silent for years, despite interest in his second act and consumers’ increased reliance on food delivery companies during the pandemic. The series of posts about the suspected arson appear to be the first tweets from the company’s account, which was created in 2018. The San Francisco police department did not immediately provide a comment on the incident.

Written by Eric Newcomer.