Travis Kalanick's Startup Atoms Is Moving Into the Robotaxi Business
The Uber co-founder's secretive new company raised $1.7 billion this summer. Now we know more about where that money is headed: self-driving taxis, big hires, and at least one controversial acquisition.
Key points
- Atoms, founded by Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick, raised $1.7 billion in summer 2026 in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz.
- Uber has invested $100 million in Atoms and held talks about using Atoms' robotaxi technology on its ride-hailing platform.
- Atoms acquired Pronto, an autonomous vehicle startup for mining operations, previously led by Anthony Levandowski, a former Uber self-driving chief.
- Atoms is preparing a hiring spree and further acquisitions to build its position in the autonomous vehicle market.
Travis Kalanick built Uber into one of the most recognised companies on the planet, then was pushed out as CEO in 2017. His new venture, Atoms, raised $1.7 billion earlier this summer, and Kalanick said almost nothing about where it was going.
Now the picture's getting clearer.
So what is Atoms actually building?
Atoms is targeting the robotaxi market: fleets of self-driving cars that carry passengers without a human driver. The Financial Times reported that Atoms is preparing for a major hiring push and a series of acquisitions to become a serious force in autonomous vehicles. Kalanick described the funding round as "unfinished business," a phrase that reads more plainly now that Uber is apparently back in his orbit.
What does Uber have to do with this?
Uber invested $100 million in Atoms, a figure TechCrunch AI had previously confirmed. Beyond the cash, the two companies have discussed how Atoms' self-driving technology could work inside Uber's app. We covered Uber's pattern of exactly this kind of partnership on 17 August 2026, when Uber and Pony.ai announced plans for 2,000 self-driving taxis across Europe and the Middle East. Adding Atoms would fit that playbook.
For ordinary Uber users, nothing changes yet. But riders could one day hail an Atoms-powered robotaxi through the same app they use today, assuming these talks go somewhere.
What is the Pronto acquisition about?
Pronto built self-driving technology for mining vehicles before Atoms bought it. The deal matters partly because of who led Pronto: Anthony Levandowski, former head of Uber's self-driving programme. Levandowski was convicted in 2020 of stealing trade secrets from Google's self-driving car project, sentenced to 18 months in prison, then pardoned by President Donald Trump.
Sources quoted by the Financial Times stressed that robotaxis aren't the whole of Atoms' strategy. Broader autonomous-vehicle ambitions may be in the works. Even so, the Pronto purchase, the Uber investment, and Kalanick's own framing all pull in the same direction.
Should you worry about the Levandowski connection?
Levandowski's involvement will draw scrutiny, and it should. His track record is the most combustible element here. Whether Kalanick can turn $1.7 billion and a headline-generating hire into a lasting business without the legal drama catching up again is what this beat will be watching.
