Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group Raises $1B
Toyota Motor Corp., DENSO Corporation and the SoftBank Vision Fund announced that they will invest $1b in Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group (ATG), a newly formed corporate entity, which aims to accelerate the development and commercialization of automated ridesharing services. Under the terms, Toyota and DENSO will together invest $667m and SVF will invest $333m, valuing the new Uber ATG entity at $7.25b on a post-money basis.
The investment and expanded partnership will “prepare the companies and industry for mass production and commercialization of automated ridesharing vehicles and services.” Toyota will also contribute up to an additional $300 million over the next three years to help cover the costs related to these activities.
“This investment and our strong partnership with the Toyota Group are a testament to the incredible work of our ATG team to date, and the exciting future ahead for this important project, alongside great partners. The development of automated driving technology will transform transportation as we know it, making our streets safer and our cities more livable. Today’s announcement, along with our ongoing OEM and supplier relationships, will help maintain Uber’s position at the forefront of that transformation.” – CEO of Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi.
“Toyota is dedicated to realizing a safe and secure future mobility society. Leveraging the strengths of Uber ATG’s autonomous vehicle technology and service network and the Toyota Group’s vehicle control system technology, mass-production capability, and advanced safety support systems, such as Toyota Guardian™, will enable us to commercialize safer, lower cost automated ridesharing vehicles and services. We believe that the combined work of Toyota, DENSO, and Uber ATG on developing next-generation autonomous vehicle hardware will accelerate the timeline for and early success of automated ridesharing services.” – EVP and president of Toyota’s in-house Connected Company, Shigeki Tomoyama.
“Among the biggest challenges facing automated driving, most lie in how to implement both the hardware and the software at scale. DENSO, as a global automotive supplier, is excited to collaborate with Uber ATG and Toyota to develop advanced automated driving hardware that we believe will transform future mobility.” – EVP of DENSO, Hiroyuki Wakabayashi.
“The team at Uber ATG has made significant progress developing highly robust automated ridesharing technology. With a comprehensive platform of hardware and software, the largest global ridesharing network and Toyota’s partnership, this collaboration is well-positioned to deploy automated ridesharing services at scale.” – CEO of the SoftBank Vision Fund, Rajeev Misra.
The transaction is expected to close in Q3 of calendar year 2019.
