By Krystal Hu, Tina Bellon and Jane Lanhee Lee
(Reuters) – Uber Technologies Inc is selling its autonomous driving unit, Uber Advanced Technologies Group (ATG), to self-driving car startup Aurora, the companies said on Monday, in a move that would accelerate the ride-sharing company’s goal to achieve profitability. The equity deal valued the ATG at $4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
The valuation of ATG has taken a dive from last year, when it raised $1 billion from a consortium of investors including Toyota Motor Corp and SoftBank Group Corp at a valuation of $7.25 billion.
Uber is also investing $400 million in Aurora, in a deal that valued Aurora at $10 billion, the people added. Uber will hold about 26% ownership interest in Aurora on a fully diluted basis, the company said in a filing. Uber and Aurora will enter into a collaboration agreement to launch self-driving vehicles on the Uber ride sharing network.
The sale will accelerate Uber’s goal to achieve profitability on an adjusted basis by the end of 2021, Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi said in an interview with Reuters.
“This essentially advances our path to profitability,” Khosrowshahi said.
(Reporting by Krystal Hu in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
