Uber Acquires Self-Driving Truck Company Otto

August 18, 2016 | Uber, the world’s largest ride-hailing network, announced today it has acquired Otto, a 90-person startup co-founded by Israeli Lior Ron, which is focused on developing self-driving truck technology. Uber would not comment on the terms of the acquisition, but according to reports, Uber will pay roughly 1 percent of its most current valuation — a sum worth about $680 million after the inclusion of its most recent fund-raising — if certain internal benchmarks are met by the Otto team. Otto’s current shareholders will also be entitled to 20 percent of the profits of any self-driving trucking business the company is able to build over time. With the acquisition of Otto, Uber gets a fast infusion of self-driving expertise, including Otto co-founder Anthony Levandowski, one of the founding fathers of autonomous technology.