source: techcrunch ai: travis kalanick’s robotics company raises $1.7b, led by a16z
level: business
travis kalanick's robotics company atoms raised $1.7 billion in a round led by andreessen horowitz. ben horowitz will join the board. other investors include bain capital, fifth wall, and notably uber, reconnecting kalanick with the company he founded and was pushed out of in 2017. atoms is a rebranded holding company built on kalanick's earlier ghost kitchen project cloud kitchens. in march, he acquired pronto, a heavy industry automation firm run by former uber colleague anthony levandowski.
kalanick aims to expand into mining and build a 'wheelbase for robots.' he described the funding as 'unfinished business' to complete a journey of digitizing the physical world, likening it to building 'atoms-based' computers where manufacturing is the cpu, real estate is storage, and transportation is the network. ben horowitz praised kalanick's ability to tackle old-school industries, stating atoms will focus on making people more productive in the physical world using ai and robotics.
the funding will likely support hiring, as kalanick emphasized the need for 'changemakers' to overcome resistance to change in complex industries. the round signals renewed confidence in kalanick's vision despite his controversial past at uber. atoms represents a convergence of ai, robotics, and industrial automation, aiming to transform sectors like mining and logistics.
why it matters: this large investment highlights growing interest in applying ai and robotics to physical industries, potentially accelerating automation in mining, logistics, and manufacturing.
source: techcrunch ai: travis kalanick’s robotics company raises $1.7b, led by a16z