Prime Highlights
- Atoms raised $1.7 billion in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz.
- Ben Horowitz will join the company’s board following the investment.
Key Facts
- Atoms is a rebranded holding company built on top of Kalanick’s Cloud Kitchens project.
- The company acquired industrial automation firm Pronto in March.
Background
Travis Kalanick’s robotics company, Atoms, has raised $1.7 billion in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, giving the newly branded industrial technology firm fresh capital to expand its robotics and automation ambitions.
The round also included Bain Capital, Fifth Wall and other investors. Uber participated in the funding, marking a notable reconnection between Kalanick and the company he founded before leaving as chief executive in 2017.
Atoms is a rebranded holding company built on top of Kalanick’s long-running Cloud Kitchens project. In March, he announced the new name and revealed the acquisition of Pronto, a heavy-industry automation company led by former Uber executive Anthony Levandowski.
Kalanick has said Atoms plans to expand beyond industrial vehicle automation and explore areas such as mining. He has also described the company’s long-term goal as building a “wheelbase for robots,” a foundational platform for robotics applications across multiple industries.
Following the investment, Ben Horowitz will join Atoms’ board. He said the company aims to improve productivity in the physical world through robotics and artificial intelligence, similar to how digital technologies transformed software and online services.
In a statement, Kalanick said the funding would help continue a broader effort to use software to understand and control physical systems. He described Atoms as the next step in a journey that began with Uber and continued through Cloud Kitchens.
Kalanick did not provide detailed product plans, but his comments suggested that a significant portion of the new funding will support hiring and expansion as the company builds out its industrial robotics platform.