Travis Kalanick has resigned as the chief executive of Uber, the ride-hailing startup he co-founded and turned into a global tech giant.

Kalanick already announced last week that he was going on an indefinite leave of absence following the death of his mother in a boating accident.

But the move failed to defuse a growing crisis over his leadership and demands from investors that he resign.

"I love Uber more than anything in the world and at this difficult moment in my personal life I have accepted the investors request to step aside so that Uber can go back to building rather than be distracted with another fight," Kalanick said in a statement late Tuesday, according to an Uber spokesperson.

Read more at: CNN.