Uber Technologies Inc has agreed to sell its autonomous vehicle division to Aurora Innovation Inc in a deal that gives the ride-hailing company a stake in the start-up developing self-driving technology, the companies said on Monday.
As part of the deal, Uber is to invest US$400 million in Aurora to merge the teams from both firms seeking to advance the technology for autonomous ride-hailing and is to hold a 26 percent stake in Aurora.
“By adding the people and technology of Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group [ATG] to the incredible group we’ve already assembled at Aurora, we’re shifting the landscape of the automated vehicle space,” said Chris Urmson, cofounder and chief executive of Aurora, which has been backed by Amazon.com Inc, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Hyundai Motor Co, among others.
Photo: AFP
The sale of Uber’s autonomous driving unit, which was temporarily stalled several years back after a fatal crash, comes as it streamlines operations to navigate a downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Uber does not appear to be giving up on self-driving vehicles, which have been part of its vision for a profitable ride-share business, but is instead swapping the unit for a stake in 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,” Urmson said.
“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,” Urmson added.
Along with acquiring ATG, Aurora announced a strategic partnership with Uber to mesh its technology with that of the leading ride-hailing service, the companies said.
The companies expect self-driving technology to be initially put to use for long-haul trucking.
Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi is to join the Aurora board of directors as part of the deal.
The merged firm is to work on technology to be known as Aurora Driver.
“Few technologies hold as much promise to improve people’s lives with safe, accessible, and environmentally friendly transportation as self-driving vehicles,” Khosrowshahi said.
“I’m looking forward to working with Chris, and to bringing the Aurora Driver to the Uber network in the years ahead,” he said.
ENERGY ISSUES: The TSIA urged the government to increase natural gas and helium reserves to reduce the impact of the Middle East war on semiconductor supply stability Chip testing and packaging service provider ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控) yesterday said it planned to invest more than NT$100 billion (US$3.15 billion) in building a new advanced chip testing facility in Kaohsiung to keep up with customer demand driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. That would be included in the company’s capital expenditure budget next year, ASE said. There is also room to raise this year’s capital spending budget from a record-high US$7 billion estimated three months ago, it added. ASE would have six factories under construction this year, another record-breaking number, ASE chief operating officer Tien Wu
The EU and US are nearing an agreement to coordinate on producing and securing critical minerals, part of a push to break reliance on Chinese supplies. The potential deal would create incentives, such as minimum prices, that could advantage non-Chinese suppliers, according to a draft of an “action plan” seen by Bloomberg. The EU and US would also cooperate on standards, investments and joint projects, as well as coordinate on any supply disruptions by countries like China. The two sides are additionally seeking other “like-minded partners” to join a multicountry accord to help create these new critical mineral supply chains, which feed into
For weeks now, the global tech industry has been waiting for a major artificial intelligence (AI) launch from DeepSeek (深度求索), seen as a benchmark for China’s progress in the fast-moving field. More than a year has passed since the start-up put Chinese AI on the map in early last year with a low-cost chatbot that performed at a similar level to US rivals. However, despite reports and rumors about its imminent release, DeepSeek’s next-generation “V4” model is nowhere in sight. Speculation is also swirling over the geopolitical implications of which computer chips were chosen to train and power the new
TECH WINNERS: Taiwan and South Korea reported robust trade, which suggests that they have critical advantages in the rapidly expanding AI supply chain, an official said Exports last month surged to a new high, as booming demand tied to artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure fueled shipments of advanced technology components, underscoring the nation’s pivotal role in the global semiconductor supply chain. Outbound shipments climbed to US$80.18 billion, the highest ever for a single month, rising 61.8 percent from a year earlier and marking the 29th consecutive month of growth, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. “The surge was driven primarily by global investment in AI infrastructure,” Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) said. The mass production of next-generation AI computing systems has accelerated procurement across the semiconductor supply
RSS