Uber sells self-driving unit to Aurora for $10 billion; gets 2 board seats

Uber Technologies sold its self-driving car division to Aurora Innovation and took a stake in the startup, a move that represents a diminishing of ambition for Uber, which once promised a fleet of self-driving taxis, and is now focused on turning a quarterly profit in 2021 after the pandemic crushed revenue.

The deal will value Aurora at $10 billion, according to people familiar with the talks who asked not to be identified discussing private information. In exchange for investing $400 million in Aurora, Uber will get a 26 per cent ownership stake in the company. That number increases to 40 per cent when counting the stakes held by the employees and investors of Uber’s autonomous driving division.