Travis Kalanick’s robotics company Atoms raises $1.7B led by a16z

In short: Travis Kalanick’s robotics company, Atoms, raised $1.7 billion in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz.

What happened

Atoms said it raised $1.7 billion, with venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z, leading the round. Ben Horowitz, a co-founder of the firm, will join Atoms’ board, which is a small group that helps oversee big company decisions.

Bain Capital, Fifth Wall, and other investors also joined. Uber invested too, which is notable because Kalanick founded Uber but left in 2017 after complaints about sexual harassment, discrimination, and a toxic workplace.

Atoms is described as a rebranded holding company built on work Kalanick started after leaving Uber. That earlier effort was Cloud Kitchens, a company connected to “ghost kitchens,” which are delivery-only restaurant kitchens (like a restaurant with no dining room). Kalanick also said Atoms acquired Pronto, a company focused on automation for heavy industry, which means using machines and software to do work in places like factories.

Kalanick did not share many specifics about what Atoms will build next. He has said he wants to create a “wheelbase for robots,” which sounds like a common base that different robots could be built on, similar to how many car models share the same underlying platform.

Why it matters

This is a large amount of money aimed at bringing more robots and automation into real world businesses like manufacturing and logistics. If Atoms succeeds, it could change how some goods are made and moved, which can affect costs, delivery times, and the kinds of jobs companies hire for.

Source: TechCrunch AI