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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Uber sells its self-driving unit to Aurora [cnbc.com]

Uber's self-driving unit, Advanced Technologies Group (ATG), is being acquired by its start-up competitor Aurora Innovation, the companies announced Monday.

The deal, expected to close in the first quarter of 2021, values ATG at approximately $4 billion. The unit was valued at $7.25 billion in Apr. 2019 when Softbank, Denso and Toyota took a stake.

[...] Uber's co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick had viewed self-driving as an essential investment [businessinsider.com], saying in 2016 he believed the world would shift to autonomous vehicles. ATG had been a long-term play for Uber, but the unit brought high costs and safety challenges [cnbc.com]. Throughout the course of a pandemic-stricken year, Uber has made efforts to stem losses in its ride hailing business, control business costs -- including with major layoffs in the spring -- and to grow its delivery business.

Uber is also reportedly selling its flying taxi division to Joby Aviation [theverge.com], presumably putting an end to its involvement with the U.S. Army [soylentnews.org].

Uber has been scaling back its driverless car efforts since it caused the death of a pedestrian in 2018. Uber has never had a profitable quarter.

Also at NYT [nytimes.com], Ars Technica [arstechnica.com], TechCrunch [techcrunch.com], and The Verge [theverge.com].

Previously: The Fall of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick [soylentnews.org]
Uber Pulls Self-Driving Cars After First Fatal Crash of Autonomous Vehicle [soylentnews.org]
Uber Shutting Down Self-Driving Truck Division [soylentnews.org]
Uber Allegedly Ignored Safety Warnings Before Self-Driving Fatality [soylentnews.org]
Will Car Ownership Soon Become "Quaint"? [soylentnews.org]
Uber Freezes Engineering Hires Amid Mounting Losses [soylentnews.org]

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