Kalanick’s Robotaxi Comeback Tests Uber’s Unfinished Business

Kalanick’s Robotaxi Comeback Tests Uber’s Unfinished Business
Travis Kalanick is reportedly steering back toward the business that once sat at the centre of Uber’s most expensive ambitions: autonomous taxis.

Earlier this summer, his startup Atoms announced a $1.7 billion round led by Andreessen Horowitz, but offered little clarity about its intended use. The funding is now being read as a possible war chest for a push into autonomous vehicles, including hiring and acquisitions. Atoms has already acquired Pronto, an autonomous-mining startup led by Anthony Levandowski, Uber’s former self-driving chief.

The venture is also described as Codex, apparently a working title, in reports portraying it as a direct revival of Kalanick’s old self-driving mission. The project is said to be in early investor discussions and focused on autonomous taxis — an arena already crowded by Waymo, Cruise and Aurora.

The key twist is Uber. Atoms has reportedly discussed how the ride-hailing company might deploy its robotaxi technology, while Uber has invested $100 million in the startup. That would put Kalanick back in commercial orbit with the company he co-founded, even as Uber already works with a growing roster of autonomous-vehicle partners.

For Kalanick, the rationale appears personal as well as commercial. He has called the new funding round “unfinished business,” language that points back to Uber’s abandoned in-house self-driving campaign. He left as chief executive in 2017 amid a series of scandals, but the reports suggest he believes the technical and operational problems that derailed that earlier effort can now be tackled by a new company.

Robotaxis are not said to be the whole of Atoms’ strategy. Still, the reported plans signal that one of Silicon Valley’s most combative founders is returning to a high-cost race he once helped turn into a defining battle for ride-hailing.

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