Uber Technologies has acquired autonomous trucking startup Otto for a reported $680 million and is announcing a deal with Volvo Car Group to build the technology into sedans and SUVs. Tech website dcvelocity.com wrote of the acquisition in an article by Ben Ames.
“Formed in 2016 by four veterans of Google’s self-driving car project, San Francisco-based Otto’s combination of hardware and software retrofits existing trucks with autonomous driving abilities by adding sensors to the roof,” the story stated.
Following the merger, Otto co-founder Anthony Levandowski, oversees Uber’s self-driving efforts for applications in personal transportation, delivery, and trucking. Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick shared this in a blog post.
In the deal, Uber paid approximately 1% of its estimated $68 billion valuation.
This makes the privately-held Otto worth $680 million, according to Reuters.
“In order to provide digital services in the physical world, we must build sophisticated logistics, artificial intelligence, and robotics systems,” Kalanick stated.
The deal means Uber extends its digital ride-sharing platform into larger sectors.
Examples include deliveries and trucking. Also, Uber plans to leverage the Otto acquisition by applying the technology to passenger cars. But, truck drivers remain concerned about potential job losses. However, CDL driver jobs aren’t in jeopardy anytime soon from the deal.
Despite the combination of advanced technologies, regulatory challenges ensure that self-driving trucks won’t hit the roads until 2025. This is according to Wallace Lau, mobility team lead at consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.
“The technology to build an autonomous truck remains available today. We’ve seen this from Daimler and from Otto as well,” Lau said in an email. “However, the biggest hurdle is the regulatory environment and societal acceptance of autonomous driving on public roads. Extensive testing is under way to prove that autonomous driving can be successful in all weather and traffic conditions.”
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