ZCZC
BCN-24
US-JAPAN-INVESTMENTS-UBER-SOFTBANK
Investors could pump $1 bn into Uber self-driving cars: report
SAN FRANCISCO, March 14, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A group of investors including
SoftBank Group is in talks to invest $1 billion or more into Uber’s self-
driving car unit, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
Word of a potential infusion of cash valuing the Uber autonomous vehicle
division at from $5 billion to $10 billion comes as the ride-hailing startup
steers toward a hotly-anticipated stock market debut.
Under terms being discussed, SoftBank’s Vision Fund and other investors,
including a car maker, would take a minority stake in Uber’s self-driving
vehicle unit, according to the Journal.
Led by Japan’s Masayoshi Son, the Vision Fund is heavily invested by Saudi
Arabia.
The Journal described the “late-stage” talks as fluid, with the
possibility a deal might not be reached.
Uber has been in a race with Google-owned Waymo and a host of other
companies, including major automakers, to develop self-driving vehicles.
Waymo said this month that it would sell a key innovation to companies
that don’t compete with its autonomous cars.
The California-based unit of Google parent Alphabet will offer its lidar
sensors, which measure distance with pulses of laser light, to companies in
robotics, security, agricultural technology and other sectors.
The move could offer a new revenue stream for Waymo as it invests in
bringing “robo taxis” to market, broadening the availability of the 3D lidar
sensors it has been developing since 2011.
Uber is aiming beyond car rides to becoming the “Amazon of transportation”
in a future where people share, instead of own, vehicles.
If all goes to plan, commuters could ride an e-scooter to a transit
station, take a train, then grab an e-bike, share a ride or take an e-scooter
at the arriving station to complete a journey — all using an Uber app on a
smartphone.
Uber’s platform moves cargo as well as people, with a “Freight” service
that connects truckers with shippers in a way similar to how drivers connect
with people seeking rides.
Uber is also seeing growing success with an “Eats” service that lets
drivers make money delivering meals ordered from restaurants.
BSS/AFP/HR/1050