❯ Kalanick’s Atoms buys Pronto and turns to robotaxis, with $100M already in from Uber

the dealTravis Kalanick’s holding company Atoms is developing robotaxi technology and hired Anthony Levandowski after acquiring his autonomous mining startup Pronto, people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times. Uber has put $100 million into Atoms, money included in the earlier $1.7 billion round led by a16z.

who these people areThe weight here is historical. Levandowski is a Waymo co-founder and later Uber’s self-driving chief, convicted of stealing trade secrets from Google’s self-driving unit, sentenced to 18 months, and pardoned by Trump in 2021. Kalanick is the former Uber CEO who hired him in the first place. Atoms has already held talks with Uber about using its robotaxi technology on Uber’s ride-hailing network, per the reporting.

the denialAtoms’ public statement does not match the reporting: the company says “we have no plans to enter the saturated robotaxi market,” conceding only that Uber is a partner that can use Atoms technology in its ridesharing business. That denial leaves a door open — building the technology and running the service are two different things. What to watch is whether Atoms files for road-testing permits, which will say more than any statement about whether it is entering this market.

▪ SIGNALThe man who first brought Levandowski into Uber has hired him back — the self-driving board has come full circle.