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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

#21

Post by femto113 »

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.

Helluva down round (the $400M in cash is the most telling in my opinion and reminds me of the kickback that IBM had to pay to "sell" its chip foundries [1]). If Uber's new stake is worth $2.5B, then the equity is worth only ~$2B. Last year Toyota+Denso+SoftBank paid $1BN for 13% of ATG, so by the new valuation their stake is now worth only about about $280M, or an over 70% loss in value in just one year.

[1] https://www.extremetech.com/computing/192430-ibm-dumps-chip-....

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

#22

Post by cactus2093 »

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?

Clearly not since they're still sitting at a $95B market cap after this news. Or perhaps just nobody else has realized this, so why don't you short the stock?

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

#23

Post by AlexandrB »

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.

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

#24

Post by cyrux004 »

lhorie wrote: post #10
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?

Within Uber, it was categorized as a "big bet", as opposed to a core vertical, like ride share/eats. Having now shed new mobility, elevate and now SDV, It looks like Dara is really set on focusing on the core verticals now.

Elevate is also gone ? Didnt read about that

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

#26

Post by dcolkitt »

necubi wrote: post #17
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?

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.)

That might not be their internal strategy, but that's pretty much the investment thesis of every Uber bull buying their stock at $100 billion market cap.

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

#28

Post by onion2k »

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?

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 one will or because a company that isn't looking at ride-sharing will.

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

#29

Post by SilasX »

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?

I always considered that a dubious business model. It's outside of Uber's core competence, and it won't lead to superprofits/a moat for very long, since they'll have competitors. Sure, it lowers their costs, but once a second (third, etc) competitor has SDCs, Uber will be able to charge a lot less as well, because competitors will have lower costs too. It's not the golden ticket to profitability.

I've been long hoping, for their own sake, that they'd sell off the SDC division, since it was hurting their balance sheet anyway. Glad they've seen the light.

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

#30

Post by dgrin91 »

necubi wrote: post #17
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?

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.)

Can you point to some sources to back that up? I have always been under the impression that self driving was the end goal that they were all working towards.
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