Travis Kalanick reportedly starting a new self-driving company backed by Uber

Travis Kalanick is reportedly embarking on a new venture focused on self-driving vehicles, with substantial support from Uber, as revealed by The Information. Kalanick aims to outpace competitors like Waymo in the deployment of self-driving technology. In addition to launching his new company, Kalanick is considering the acquisition of Pronto, a startup dedicated to autonomous vehicles for industrial and mining applications, founded by his former Uber colleague, Anthony Levandowski. Previously, Kalanick showed interest in purchasing the U.S. operations of Chinese self-driving firm Pony AI, also backed by Uber, but those discussions have since concluded. Kalanick, who resigned from Uber in 2017 amid various controversies including allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination, had previously established a self-driving division within the company in 2015. This initiative was significantly influenced by Levandowski, whom Kalanick had recruited from Google. However, Uber faced legal challenges from Google over allegations of intellectual property theft related to self-driving technology, ultimately leading to a settlement. Levandowski faced criminal charges for his involvement and received a pardon from President Trump. Although Kalanick resigned before the tragic incident in 2018 when one of Uber's autonomous vehicles struck and killed a pedestrian, the company continued its self-driving efforts until the division was sold to Aurora in 2020 by his successor, Dara Khosrowshahi. In a recent interview, Kalanick expressed regret over Uber's decision to discontinue its self-driving car development.