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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) — Uber is selling its autonomous driving unit, Uber Advanced Technologies Group, 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. This marks a major drop in valuation for ATG, as it raised $1 billion from a consortium of investors including Toyota and SoftBank at a valuation of $7.25 billion last year.
Following the sale announced on Monday, Uber is also investing $400 million in Aurora, which values 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 told Reuters in an interview.
"This essentially advances our path to profitability," he said.
Reuters has previously reported the two companies were in talks.
Uber has been seeking options for its autonomous vehicle division, a cash-burn machine, including more outside investment, as Khosrowshahi refocused on core businesses including ride-hailing and food delivery since the pandemic hit.
Aurora is among dozens of startups, automakers and large technology companies working on self-driving car systems, eager to capitalize on a sea change in the transportation industry. It was last valued at over $3 billion in September 2019, according to PitchBook data.
The Palo Alto, California-based startup, which is already testing vehicles in the San Francisco Bay Area and Pittsburgh, said in July it was expanding testing and development of its vehicles to the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas.
(Reporting by Krystal Hu and Tina Bellon in New York and Jane Lanhee Lee in San Francisco; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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