Travis Kalanick, the founder and former chief executive of Uber, is reportedly exploring an acquisition of the U.S. division of Pony.ai, a prominent Chinese autonomous vehicle company. According to published reports, Kalanick is already engaging with potential investors as he seeks funding for this ambitious purchase, and Uber itself has also reportedly entered discussions to potentially support the deal.
Pony.ai went public just last year and currently holds a market capitalization of approximately $4.5 billion. The company’s decision in 2022 to prepare its U.S. operations for either a spin-off or outright sale, including the establishment of a separate, “forked” version of its technology infrastructure, appears to have paved the way for this move.
If successful, the purchase would mark Kalanick’s notable return to the autonomous vehicle sector, a field from which he stepped away after his departure from Uber in 2017. At the time of his exit, Uber was actively investing in self-driving technology, but the program suffered a major setback in 2018 after one of its autonomous test vehicles was involved in a fatal collision in Arizona, resulting in the death of a pedestrian.
Under the leadership of Dara Khosrowshahi, who replaced Kalanick, Uber shifted away from internal autonomous vehicle development. In a well-known move, the company eventually sold its self-driving division to Aurora, a startup focused on autonomous trucking. Since then, Uber has adopted a collaborative approach, partnering with established self-driving companies, including Alphabet’s Waymo.
While running CloudKitchens, his ghost kitchen startup, Kalanick has increasingly shown interest in robotics and automation technologies. Should he finalize the acquisition of Pony.ai, he reportedly plans on continuing to oversee CloudKitchens’ day-to-day operations alongside the new venture.
At a public event in March, Kalanick openly acknowledged feelings of regret regarding Uber’s decision to exit self-driving development. He stated that, prior to his departure, Uber was second only to Waymo, and closing the gap quickly. He further implied that a sustained pursuit of an autonomous ride-sharing product would have likely positioned Uber advantageously in today’s market, calling it a missed opportunity for the company.
