Atoms

Autonomous Vehicles · Ride-Hailing · Robotics

Partnership

Kalanick's Atoms reportedly preps robotaxi push, in early Uber talks

Uber already invested $100 million in the venture, effectively financing a comeback by the CEO its own board pushed out nine years ago.

• Atoms is preparing a hiring spree and acquisitions to build robotaxi technology and has held early talks with Uber about running it on Uber's network, according to a Financial Times investigation.
• Atoms, founded by former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, describes itself as a 'physical AI' company spanning food production, mining automation and heavy transport rather than a pure autonomous-vehicle operator.
• The $1.7 billion round underpinning the push closed in July, led by Andreessen Horowitz with Bain Capital, Fifth Wall and Uber also participating; Uber's stake alone was $100 million.
• Atoms bolstered its autonomy bench by acquiring Pronto, an autonomous-mining startup led by Anthony Levandowski, Uber's former self-driving chief, who was convicted of stealing Waymo trade secrets before being pardoned by Donald Trump.
• A tie-up would mark Kalanick's first involvement in Uber's ride-hailing business since he left its board in 2019, two years after being forced out as CEO amid a workplace-culture crisis.
• Atoms disputes the framing, telling the FT it is 'an industrial software company' with 'no plans to enter the saturated robotaxi market,' while allowing that Uber could use its tech if useful.
• If confirmed, the plan would reunite Kalanick with the company that ousted him, using Uber's own capital and a pardoned engineer at the center of Uber's original self-driving scandal to re-enter a market Uber had already outsourced to Waymo and other partners.