KEEP ON TRUCKIN’: Uber’s Self-Driving Car Plans Involve a Trucking Startup.
The San Francisco ride-hailing company, which announced last year its plans to invest in self-driving tech, has agreed to acquire Otto, a young startup, it revealed to Bloomberg. Otto, which developed a kit that lets big-rig trucks drive themselves on highways, was founded by four former Googlers, including Anthony Levandowski, one of the original engineers on the company’s self-driving team, and Lior Ron, who headed Google Maps for five years.
Uber hasn’t disclosed terms of the deal, but Bloomberg pegs the price tag at roughly $680 million, assuming certain targets are met. When the deal closes, Levandowski will take the lead of Uber’s self-driving car operations while also running Otto’s trucking business, according to the report.
Who will robot trucks will deliver goods to, once everyone has lost their jobs to robots?