Key facts
- Travis Kalanick's robotics company, Atoms, raised $1.7 billion.
- The funding round was led by Andreessen Horowitz.
- Uber, Kalanick's former company, participated in the funding round.
- Ben Horowitz will join the board of Atoms.
- Atoms aims to build a "wheelbase for robots" and increase productivity in the physical world.
Travis Kalanick's robotics venture, Atoms, has successfully raised $1.7 billion in a significant funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. The investment also saw participation from Bain Capital, Fifth Wall, and notably, Uber, the company Kalanick founded and from which he departed in 2017.
Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz will join the board of Atoms following the investment. In a post on X, Horowitz expressed confidence in Kalanick's ability to transform heavy industries, stating, "Travis is Back." He further elaborated that Atoms aims to enhance productivity in the physical world, drawing parallels to the impact of Uber on transportation and computers on the digital realm.
Atoms is described as a rebranded holding company that builds upon Kalanick's previous projects, including CloudKitchens and the acquisition of Pronto, an industrial automation firm run by former Uber colleague Anthony Levandowski. Kalanick has indicated plans to expand into mining and build a "wheelbase for robots," aiming to "digitize the physical world" and control it with software.
Kalanick's statement suggested the funding is tied to "unfinished business" from his time at Uber and CloudKitchens, focusing on a "bits-to-atoms" narrative. He envisions building "atoms-based" computers where manufacturing serves as the CPU and real estate as storage. The substantial funding is expected to support hiring and the development of complex industrial systems.