Travis Kalanick is reportedly launching a new self-driving vehicle company with significant support from Uber, as per The Information. He reportedly aims to deploy self-driving technology more aggressively than Waymo. The Uber founder is also considering acquiring Pronto, an autonomous vehicle startup focused on industrial and mining sites, founded by his former Uber colleague, Anthony Levandowski. Previously, Kalanick had shown interest in purchasing the U.S. branch of Chinese self-driving vehicle company Pony AI with Uber’s backing, but those discussions have ended, according to The Information.
Uber did not provide an immediate comment. Kalanick resigned from Uber in 2017 following a series of crises, including numerous complaints of sexual harassment and discrimination, leading to an external investigation that resulted in the firing of over 20 employees. Prior to his resignation, Kalanick had initiated a self-driving division at Uber in 2015, with Levandowski playing a key role after being lured from Google. Uber eventually faced a lawsuit from Google for allegedly stealing secrets connected to Google’s self-driving car project, which became Waymo. Both companies settled, but Levandowski faced criminal charges and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, later receiving a pardon from President Trump.
Uber continued its project after Kalanick’s resignation, even after a fatal incident involving one of its self-driving test vehicles in 2018. Kalanick’s successor, Dara Khosrowshahi, eventually shut down and sold the division to autonomous trucking company Aurora in 2020. In a rare interview in March 2025, Kalanick shared his regret over Uber’s decision to cease developing its self-driving cars.