Travis Kalanick, co-founder and CEO of ride-hailing service Uber, said Wednesday he's going to take as long as possible to go public -- responding to critics and stressing he's focused on product and innovation, not liquidity.

"We are 5½-years old. And it's a little early in our lifecycle go there," Kalanick told CNBC's "Squawk Box," referring to the IPO process. "We'll go there eventually. We have to find liquidity for ... ."

Back in February, Union Square Ventures partner Fred Wilson was critical of Kalanick, saying: "He's wimping out.

Uber also faces political critics in many cities across America and around the world, claiming among other things Uber drivers are taking jobs away from licensed taxi drivers and causing traffic problems.

"What we see is wherever Uber does well we eventually see resistance. And it's because we happen to be in an industry that has set things up

First Published:Apr 27, 2016 10:15 PM IST