Uber's Asset-Max Era

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Following a recent observation about Uber's pervasive presence within the burgeoning autonomous vehicle (AV) technology landscape, the Financial Times has now quantified this commitment. According to public records and confidential discussions, the FT calculated that Uber has dedicated over $10 billion to acquiring autonomous vehicles and securing equity stakes in companies developing this technology. Approximately $2.5 billion of this sum represents direct investments, with the remaining $7.5 billion earmarked for robotaxi purchases over the coming years.

We have previously documented Uber's extensive investments and collaborations with autonomous vehicle companies across various domains, including drones, robotaxis, and freight. Notable investments include stakes in WeRide, Lucid, Nuro, Rivian, and Wayve.

This substantial figure, especially the $7.5 billion allocation, prompts reflection on another transformative period in Uber's history, revealing a prior engagement with asset-heavy strategies. While Uber initially aimed for an asset-light model, it briefly pursued the opposite course.

Between 2015 and 2018, Uber embarked on a series of ambitious "moonshot" projects. This included the establishment of Uber Elevate, an electric air taxi developer, and its in-house autonomous vehicle unit, Uber ATG, which was further bolstered by the 2016 acquisition of Otto. Additionally, Uber acquired micromobility startup Jump in 2018.

However, in 2020, Uber strategically divested from these asset-intensive ventures. Uber ATG was sold to Aurora, Jump to Lime, and Elevate to Joby Aviation. Crucially, Uber maintained equity stakes in all these entities, avoiding a complete divestiture.

Uber is now entering a distinct, new asset-heavy phase. Rather than investing millions or billions in developing technology in-house—though internal R&D undoubtedly continues—the company appears to be concentrating on owning, or potentially leasing, the physical autonomous assets themselves. This strategic shift could introduce interesting new line items to Uber's future balance sheets.

Owning fleets of robotaxis manufactured by other companies may not align with Uber's original vision, nor that of former CEO Travis Kalanick, who previously stated that the company "made a mistake" in abandoning its AV development program. Nevertheless, this current approach could still lead to the same ultimate objective.

Earlier this month, I spoke with Eclipse partner Jiten Behl about the venture firm’s new $1.3 billion fund and its investment focus. As reported, the firm plans to incubate more startups, having previously supported the Rivian spinout, Also. While Behl did not disclose specific details, he affirmed, "We’re definitely working on a couple of really cool ideas," emphasizing Eclipse's particular interest in startups that operate across multiple enterprises.

Thanks to an insightful tip and diligent document research by senior reporter Sean O’Kane, a seed round announcement appears imminent for a San Francisco-based startup. This company is reportedly developing an autonomous hauler designed without a driver cab, a concept reminiscent of Einride's innovations. Further details await its official unveiling.

Though the company's team is not large, it comprises a distinguished group of Silicon Valley tech luminaries, including a founder with experience at Uber ATG, Pronto, and Waabi. Stay tuned for more updates.

Should you have a tip for us, please email Kirsten Korosec at [email protected] or reach out via Signal at kkorosec.07. Alternatively, you can contact Sean O’Kane at [email protected].

Slate has secured additional capital as it prepares to commence production of its first affordable pickup trucks by the close of 2026.

The electric vehicle startup, initially backed by Jeff Bezos, successfully raised another $650 million in a Series C funding round led by TWG Global. TWG, led by Guggenheim Partners chief executive (and Los Angeles Dodgers owner) Mark Walter and investor Thomas Tull, is a firm to watch closely.

To date, Slate has amassed approximately $1.4 billion. Its prior investors include General Catalyst, Jeff Bezos’ family office, VC firm Slauson & Co., and former Amazon executive Diego Piacentini, as TechCrunch first reported last year.

Other noteworthy deals that garnered attention include:

Glydways, a San Francisco-based startup developing personal autonomous pods for operation on dedicated 2-meter-wide urban lanes, closed a $170 million Series C funding round. This round was co-led by Suzuki Motor Corporation, ACS Group, and Khosla Ventures, with participation from existing investors Mitsui Chemicals and Gates Frontier, and new investor Obayashi Corporation.

GM and Ford are reportedly in discussions with the Pentagon regarding potential automotive industry assistance to revamp the military's procurement program, aiming for more cost-effective and expedited methods for acquiring vehicles, munitions, and other hardware, as reported by the New York Times, citing anonymous sources.

Loop, a San Francisco-based startup, secured $95 million in a Series C funding round. This round was led by Valor Equity Partners and the Valor Atreides AI Fund, and included investments from 8VC, Founders Fund, Index Ventures, and J.P. Morgan’s late-stage fund, Growth Equity Partners.

Monarch Tractor, the startup focused on electric, autonomous tractors, has transitioned to a new phase. Its assets have been acquired by Caterpillar following challenges in pivoting to a software services business model.

Uber is increasing its stake in Delivery Hero by 4.5%, as reported by the Financial Times. Uber agreed to purchase approximately 270 million euros worth of shares from Prosus, the Dutch investment group and Delivery Hero’s largest shareholder.

Doug Field, the prominent executive who spearheaded Ford’s electric vehicle and technology strategies over the past five years, is departing the company. Concurrently, Ford is undergoing an organizational restructuring, establishing a "product creation and industrialization" team to be led by Chief Operating Officer Kumar Galhotra. Speculation arises regarding Field's next career move, potentially a return to Silicon Valley.

Lightship, the all-electric RV startup, is expanding its Colorado-based factory by an additional 44,000 square feet, an expansion projected to quadruple its manufacturing capacity.

Rivian and battery recycling and materials startup Redwood Materials forged a partnership years ago, and the results of this collaboration are now evident. Redwood is installing battery energy storage at Rivian’s factory in Illinois, utilizing 100 second-life Rivian battery packs. This system will provide 10 megawatt-hours (MWh) of dispatchable energy, designed to reduce costs and alleviate grid load during periods of peak demand.

Tesla has introduced a new self-driving application that simplifies the subscription process for its Full Self-Driving software and provides users with statistics on its usage frequency and patterns. While not monumental news, the gamified nature of these new statistics is noteworthy.

Waymo, as is often the case, has several updates this week. The Alphabet-owned company has commenced testing its autonomous vehicles on public roads in London. Furthermore, it has eliminated its waitlist in Miami and Orlando to accelerate the scaling of its robotaxi services in both cities.

This newsletter is not my sole endeavor increasingly incorporating robotics. My podcast, the Autonocast, is also delving deeper into this area as the realms of autonomous vehicles, AI, and robotics converge. I invite you to listen to a recent interview with Foxglove founder Adrian MacNeil, who previously worked at Cruise.