Uber hands over its self-driving car unit to Aurora


Uber has abandoned its self-driving project, offloading the business unit to Amazon-backed startup Aurora Technologies.

Uber will hand over the team and the technology of its Advanced Technologies Group (ATG), while investing $400m in Aurora as part of a strategic partnership. This investment will also see Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi join the Aurora board.

“By adding the people and technology of Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group to the incredible group we’ve already assembled at Aurora, we’re shifting the landscape of the automated vehicle space,” said Chris Urmson, Co-founder and CEO of Aurora. “With the addition of ATG, Aurora will have an incredibly strong team and technology, a clear path to several markets, and the resources to deliver. Simply put, Aurora will be the company best positioned to deliver the self-driving products necessary to make transportation and logistics safer, more accessible, and less expensive.”

Aurora, founded in 2017, will look to use the acquisition to ‘accelerate’ its goal of bringing autonomous vehicles to the market, with its initial focus on self-driving trucks. The company is currently building the ‘Aurora Driver’, which is a platform aimed at bringing together software, hardware, and data services to operate a range of vehicles across various applications.

“Few technologies hold as much promise to improve people’s lives with safe, accessible, and environmentally friendly transportation as self-driving vehicles. For the last five years, our phenomenal team at ATG has been at the forefront of this effort—and in joining forces with Aurora, they are now in pole position to deliver on that promise even faster,” said Khosrowshahi. “I’m looking forward to working with Chris, and to bringing the Aurora Driver to the Uber network in the years ahead.”

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