The UBER.N self-driving unit of Uber Technologies Inc is looking to collaborate with other businesses working on autonomous driving, the chief executive officer of the organisation said on Wednesday.
“Our view is that we will partner with other autonomous providers over a period of time,” Dara Khosrowshahi said at the RBC Capital Markets conference when asked about news that Uber is looking to sell its Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) autonomous driving business. He said Uber could give a broad customer base and useful data on lucrative routes produced by its ride-hailing business to rivals, who have poured billions of dollars into the creation of robotaxis.
Last week, Reuters announced that Uber is in ongoing negotiations to sell its ATG unit to Aurora, a self-driving car start-up, as Uber was searching for expensive unit options, with fully autonomous vehicles still many years away. Khosrowshahi refused to comment directly on the news, but said Uber was trying both internally and externally to build an open network and finance ATG.
The CEO said we’re going to be pursuing all paths forward here,” In May, Khosrowshahi said Uber was open to using technology from the industry’s competitors.
ATG obtained funding from external investors, including Toyota Motor Corp 7203.T and Softbank Group Corp 9984.T, for approximately 1 billion and was priced at $7.25 billion earlier this year. Khosrowshahi said it was still ten to 15 years away from fully autonomous vehicles that no longer need human oversight and their success depends on local regulations.
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