Uber has been developing autonomous vehicles and envisions a day when those cars could replace its tens of thousands of contract drivers
Uber Technologies Inc. on Thursday said it is buying Ottomotto LLC, a Silicon Valley startup building self-driving vehicle technology for trucks.
As part of the deal, Otto co-founder Anthony Levandowski is joining Uber and will lead the company’s combined efforts in autonomous vehicles. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
Join Develop Self Driving SUV with Volvo
Volvo Car Corp. and ride-hailing giant Uber Technologies Inc. have signed a $300 million agreement to co-develop autonomous sport-utility vehicles that will either be used as self-driving taxis or sold to consumers.
The two companies will announce the joint project Thursday, saying the Swedish auto maker will conduct much of the initial engineering on a platform for an XC90 SUV that is capable of piloting itself. At some point, Uber will take that technology and use it as the foundation to develop its own self-driving vehicle technology. Volvo will do the same.
Under the agreement, Uber will buy XC90 SUVs manufactured by Volvo. Volvo is owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. and has been among the more aggressive players in the established auto industry when it comes to developing and advocating for autonomous vehicles.
Uber and Volvo will work together on dynamic mapping, object identification and other hurdles that face many companies working on driverless cars. – Article published on WSJ