Uber sells self-driving unit UberATG to Aurora in $4 billion worth deal

Uber, has announced the sale of its self-driving unit, Uber Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) to Aurora.

Ride-hailing giant, Uber, has announced the sale of its self-driving unit, Uber Advanced Technologies Group (ATG), to another self-driving company called Aurora at $4billion.

This was disclosed in an announcement by Reuters on Monday evening.

Uber says the deal will advance the company’s path towards profitability. The initial equity deal of the sale valued ATG at $4 billion.

However, Uber announced a $400 million investment for 26% ownership of the platform, which would value Aurora at $10 billion.

Uber’s Chief Executive Officer, Dara Khosrowshahi, said: “The sale of the unit to Aurora will boost Uber’s profitability goals by the end of the year. This essentially advances our path to profitability.”

He added that seeking profitability was not the major driver of the deal.

Uber’s CEO will also have a board seat at Aurora. The CEO disclosed that Uber has focused more on its core business due to the effects of the pandemic.

He added that Uber will not work with Aurora exclusively on self-driving options, but says the relationship between both companies is special.

“If the technology becomes real, I think our investment will be money good and then some,” he added.

TechCrunch also added that Aurora will not pay cash for the deal. “Uber together with existing ATG investors and the ATG employees who continue their employment with Aurora are expected to collectively hold about 40% interest in Aurora on a fully diluted basis” they revealed.

In 2019, Uber ATG raised $1 billion from Toyota Motor, Japanese automotive components manufacturer, Denso Corp., and the SoftBank Vision Fund, which valued ATG at $7.25 billion last year.

Aurora develops a wide range of self-driving options from trucks to cars and is working with Uber to launch self-driving vehicles on Uber’s food delivery network.