Monday marked the end of Uber Technology's (UBER -0.07%) attempt to develop in-house autonomous driving capability. The rideshare giant and self-driving tech specialist Aurora announced in a joint press release that the latter has purchased Uber's Advanced Technologies Group (ATG), its self-driving solutions division. The price of the deal was not disclosed.
Although it will no longer be the owner of ATG, Uber still stands to reap the benefits of its work. The company is forging a strategic partnership in the autonomous driving field. To cement this arrangement, Uber will invest $400 million in Aurora and CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will join the latter company's board.
Image source: Uber Technologies.
Uber will not be the first beneficiary of ATG's autonomous solutions. Instead, these will be directed to self-driving trucks. As with other elements of this deal, the two companies did not provide further details.
"For the last five years, our phenomenal team at ATG has been at the forefront of this effort -- and in joining forces with Aurora, they are now in pole position to deliver on that promise even faster," Khosrowshahi said in the press release.
Although virtually no financial figures were mentioned in the press release, research into autonomous driving is generally considered to be arduous and very expensive.
While Uber is losing the chance to develop and ultimately leverage such technology on its own, it stands to save significant amounts of capital by no longer having this in-house. As it continues to post considerable bottom-line losses -- particularly during the coronavirus pandemic, which has kept many would-be riders at home -- this move should help push it closer to profitability.
