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Uber sells self-driving unit in deal that will push Aurora’s valuation to $10B

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Re: Uber sells self-driving unit in deal that will push Aurora’s valuation to $10B

#131

Post by ghaff »

lozaning wrote: post #35
onion2k wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uber don't need to invent self-driving themselves so long as whoever does invent self-driving cars sells them on the free market. Uber has a strong brand and loyal customers, and they could make out like bandits even if they have to buy the tech from someone else. Their real problem is if some other company perfects self-driving cars and doesn't sell them. Perhaps Uber have decided that's unlikely, either because no…

Uber has a strong network effect, but I don't think there's actually much brand loyalty.

I'm not sure how strong a network effect other than in a local area. I'd be pretty sure that (in normal times) their primary market isn't business travelers flitting from SF to NYC to London but residents of $CITY using Uber Pool for commuting or Uber to go out with friends on a night out to a bar.

Re: Uber sells self-driving unit in deal that will push Aurora’s valuation to $10B

#132

Post by quickthrowman »

ProAm wrote: post #102
necubi wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, that was never the strategy, no matter how many times people on HN claimed it was. Both Uber and Lyft are aiming for profitability next year with human drivers. (Disclaimer, I work for Lyft but this has been said in public many, many times by both companies.)

Does profitability equate to paying back all the VC money burned getting to this point? They were losing billions every quarter for a long time. I haven't looked at their quarterlies in a while though but Id be surprised if they were remotely right-side up.

No, it means a profitable quarter.

Re: Uber sells self-driving unit in deal that will push Aurora’s valuation to $10B

#134

Post by ape4 »

thesimon wrote: post #6

Wasn't Uber's whole money losing strategy based on the vision that one day they'll use their self-driving cars to get the driving done for cheaper?

It doesn't have to be developed by them. Just like the don't make their own cars. If some car company makes a reliable level-5 car Uber can just offer a deal with owners of those cars.

Re: Uber sells self-driving unit in deal that will push Aurora’s valuation to $10B

#135

Post by jeltz »

yumraj wrote: post #42
necubi wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, that was never the strategy, no matter how many times people on HN claimed it was. Both Uber and Lyft are aiming for profitability next year with human drivers. (Disclaimer, I work for Lyft but this has been said in public many, many times by both companies.)

It may not be the strategy, but it is definitely the only reasonable path to profitability where the drivers will make at least a reasonable income and the cost of a ride is competitive with a cab. Either ways, next year is pretty close. Perhaps I'd be proven wrong.

Only because they have burned so much VC. Both Uber and Bolt charge like normal taxi companies in Stockholm and can therefore afford to pay their drivers at the same time as making a profit. And as far as I know Bolt is basically already profitable, they just copied Uber's business but reduced the administration costs and did not blow a ton of cash on self driving cars. Having their HQ in Tallinn rather than SF also helps.

There is definitely a market for a modern taxi company, but it won't be as cheap as Uber is in the US. And Uber has too large overhead.

Re: Uber sells self-driving unit in deal that will push Aurora’s valuation to $10B

#136

Post by reader_mode »

sorenjan wrote: post #57

Car companies doesn't make their own airbags, they buy them from Autoliv. They don't make their own brakes, they buy them from Brembo. They buy transmissions from ZF, tires from Michelin, ECUs from Bosch, etc. Why should car manufacturers develop their own self driving technology instead of letting others, like Bosch [1] or Veoneer [2], do that and buy it from them? Spread the investment over more cars, it makes sens…

Having used Bosch software I sincerely doubt that organisation has the capability to innovate in anything software related.

Re: Uber sells self-driving unit in deal that will push Aurora’s valuation to $10B

#137

Post by todd3834 »

lhorie wrote: post #118
aardvarkr wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah the more I look the more I find proof that self-driving cars has been seen as an existential threat by Uber/Lyft for years and years with Travis Kalanick (ex-CEO) saying it repeatedly. Here's an interview from him on exactly this topic. https://www.businessinsider.com/travis-kalanick-interview-on...

Can't speak for Lyft leadership, but I think Travis and Dara have very different perspectives on self driving. As for the existential threat narrative, consider that there are many places that sell cheaper/better food than McDonalds, and yet, McD is everywhere. I don't think technical merit alone is going to win the rideshare pie.

Cheaper than a $0.39 hamburger? Where?

Re: Uber sells self-driving unit in deal that will push Aurora’s valuation to $10B

#138

Post by mlboss »

badestrand wrote: post #76
dboreham wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They won't. Unless that is "self-driving taxi" becomes redefined to mean "on roads with no human drivers and no pedestrians".

Check out this video, it works really well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBJ0GvsQeak ("Riding in a Self Driving Car - With Nobody Up Front")

No pedestrians, no roadside construction, no bikes. I would like to see a self driving video in major city during rush hour.

Re: Uber sells self-driving unit in deal that will push Aurora’s valuation to $10B

#139

Post by microtherion »

wmf wrote: post #3

So Uber is throwing in $6.2B in ATG equity plus $400M in cash and getting $2.6B in Aurora equity? Sounds like a massively down round.

A few days ago I heard the phrase "I'll trade you my dead horse for your dead cow". I believe it was coined during the 80s S&L scandal, but it might be apt here.

Re: Uber sells self-driving unit in deal that will push Aurora’s valuation to $10B

#140

Post by majani »

AlexandrB wrote: post #23
papito wrote: post #8

And Uber stock in after-hours trading is not even flinching. Wasn't this like, THE whole strategy?

I think it was the publicly stated strategy because saying "we want to monopolize taxi service, then raise prices" doesn't sound great to regulators.

When has monopolizing a sector then jacking up the prices ever worked as a strategy?
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