Uber’s New Drive: Kalanick Launches Fresh Self‑Driving Venture

Travis Kalanick, the former Uber chief, is launching a new venture focused on building self‑driving cars.
He claims to aim for a faster pace than competitors like Waymo, and Uber is reportedly backing the project financially.

Key Moves

• Acquisition of Pronto – a startup that develops autonomous vehicles for factories and mines.
• Failed bid for Pony AI – Kalanick previously attempted to purchase the U.S. side of a Chinese self‑driving firm, but the deal collapsed.

A Brief History

• 2015 – Kalanick created Uber’s self‑driving unit and hired former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski.
• 2016 – The partnership sparked a lawsuit, as Google accused Uber of stealing autonomous‑car secrets.
• 2017 – Kalanick left Uber amid scandals involving harassment and discrimination, leading to investigations and firings.
• 2018 – An Uber test car struck and killed a pedestrian, prompting further scrutiny.
• 2020 – New CEO Dara Khosrowshahi shut down the division and sold it to Aurora, a trucking‑tech company.
• 2025 – Kalanick expressed regret over Uber abandoning its own self‑driving efforts.

The New Vision

Back with Uber’s support, Kalanick hopes to introduce a fresh approach to autonomous driving. The company intends to accelerate development and outpace rivals in the race toward fully self‑driving vehicles.