After years of development and some shocking incidents, the next step for Uber’s self-driving unit could be a sale. As first reported by TechCrunch and later Reuters, anonymous sources say Uber is in talks with self-driving tech startup Aurora about a sale, and the discussions have gone on since October.
Last year Toyota, Softbank and Denso teamed up to invest $1 billion in Uber ATG in a deal that valued the self-driving focused spinoff at $7.25 billion. Meanwhile the smaller Aurora has had investments from Amazon, and deals with Hyundai but also lost one with Volkswagen last year, while counting big names like ex-Google Chris Urmson among its ranks.
The risk and uncertainty in developing self-driving tech has been evident in the history of Uber ATG, which includes the death of a pedestrian and its former self-driving lead receiving an 18 month sentence for stealing tech from his former employer, Waymo. Both companies declined to comment on the reports.