Uber cut roughly 3,300 jobs on September 2, then turned around days later and confirmed it has quietly put $100 million into Kalanick’s Atoms, the industrial-AI venture founded by the ride-hailing giant’s former CEO. The twist that made headlines: Kalanick’s Atoms just hired Anthony Levandowski, the self-driving engineer whose theft of Google’s trade secrets cost Uber roughly $350 million and helped push Travis Kalanick out of the company in 2017. Nine years later, Uber is a shareholder in the very company that now employs him — and, according to the Financial Times, that company may be building robotaxi technology.
Table of Contents
1. What Uber Actually Put $100 Million Into
Kalanick’s Atoms is the industrial-AI and robotics company Travis Kalanick launched after leaving Uber’s board in 2019. Earlier this year, Atoms raised a $1.7 billion funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, and the Financial Times has now confirmed that Uber quietly contributed $100 million to that round. Atoms lists Uber among its equity partners on its own investor page, alongside a16z, Bain Capital Ventures, Fifth Wall, and SV Angel, so the stake itself was never exactly hidden — what changed is the scrutiny now attached to it.
2. Why Hiring Anthony Levandowski Is Such Explosive News
Anthony Levandowski co-founded Waymo and later ran Uber’s self-driving program. He was convicted of stealing trade secrets from Google’s self-driving unit, a case the Financial Times says cost Uber close to $350 million in litigation and directly contributed to Kalanick’s removal as CEO. Levandowski was sentenced to 18 months in prison, but was pardoned by then-President Donald Trump in 2021. He rejoined Kalanick’s orbit when Kalanick’s Atoms acquired his mining-automation startup, Pronto, in March 2026 — and he is reportedly now leading its work on self-driving technology.
3. What the Financial Times Says About Robotaxis
According to FT reporter Rafe Rosner-Uddin, who cited people familiar with the plans plus current and former Atoms and Uber staff, Kalanick’s Atoms is developing robotaxi technology with Levandowski leading that effort. The same sources say the company has held preliminary talks with Uber about running that technology on Uber’s network. Uber declined to comment when The Next Web and TechCrunch both reported on the story on September 6.
4. Atoms’ Denial — And Why the Wording Doesn’t Quite Add Up
Atoms gave the Financial Times a flat denial, describing itself as “an industrial software company” with “no plans to enter the saturated robotaxi market.” But the company then added that Uber is a partner and may use its technology for its ride-hailing business if that proves helpful — a narrower claim that sits oddly next to the denial before it. Sourced reporting says one thing, Kalanick’s Atoms says another, and nothing published so far settles which version is closer to the truth.
5. The $1.7 Billion War Chest Behind Kalanick’s Atoms
Atoms now has more than 2,000 employees spread across several divisions, with most staff sitting in its food-automation arm, Lab37, which is run by Eric Meyhofer, the former head of Uber’s robotaxi program. Ben Horowitz joined the board after the funding round and called it “certainly the biggest cheque I’ve ever written.” Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is also reportedly among Kalanick’s Atoms backers, and five banks, including JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, appear on its investor page as debt partners.
6. Uber Is Betting on Robotaxis From Every Direction at Once
The timing of the Atoms revelation is notable. Uber cut about 3,300 jobs, roughly a tenth of its workforce, on September 2, and pulled out of both Nigeria and Uganda in the same stretch. At the same time, it is funding several separate paths to autonomous ride-hailing: it launched London’s first robotaxi service with Wayve last week, and in August it agreed to put more than 2,000 Pony.ai robotaxis on European streets. A $100 million stake in Kalanick’s Atoms would simply be one more line in that same bet, spread across several companies instead of one.
7. What This Means for Kalanick’s Comeback
Kalanick left Uber’s CEO role in 2017 amid allegations of managerial dysfunction, claims the company mishandled harassment and discrimination complaints, multiple regulatory investigations, and the fallout from the Google lawsuit. He now speaks at Andreessen Horowitz events, and Columbia Business School’s David Erickson told the FT that only a handful of people have created as much private value as Kalanick has, meaning some investors will back him almost regardless of his history. Kalanick titled his own essay announcing the funding round “Unfinished Business,” and closed it by saying it was time to close the loop.
A Quick Timeline of the Kalanick-Levandowski Saga
2017: Google sues Uber over trade secrets Levandowski allegedly took from its self-driving unit; the fallout contributes to Travis Kalanick’s removal as Uber’s CEO.
2019-2021: Kalanick leaves Uber’s board entirely in 2019; Levandowski is convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison, then pardoned by President Trump in 2021.
March-September 2026: Kalanick’s Atoms acquires Levandowski’s startup Pronto in March; raises a $1.7 billion round in July with Uber contributing capital; the Financial Times reveals Uber’s $100 million stake and reports on the company’s robotaxi ambitions on September 6.
What This Means for the Robotaxi Race
Kalanick’s Atoms is only one piece of a much bigger scramble. Our Tesla Cybercab investigation covered how quickly regulators started scrutinizing driverless vehicles the moment they hit public streets, and Uber’s scattered bets on Wayve, Pony.ai, and now possibly Atoms suggest no single company wants to be caught without a seat at that table.
The Levandowski hire also fits a pattern of Silicon Valley companies rehabilitating figures tied to trade-secrets disputes; our coverage of the Apple-OpenAI trade secrets lawsuit shows this kind of dispute is becoming a recurring cost of doing business in AI and autonomous tech, not a one-off scandal.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Atoms, Travis Kalanick’s new company?
Kalanick’s Atoms is an industrial-AI and robotics company founded by former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick after he left Uber’s board in 2019. It describes itself as focused on automating physical work, including food preparation and mining, and raised a $1.7 billion funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz in mid-2026.
How much money has Uber invested in Atoms?
According to the Financial Times, Uber has invested $100 million in Kalanick’s Atoms as part of its $1.7 billion funding round. Atoms lists Uber as one of its equity partners alongside firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital Ventures.
Why is Anthony Levandowski a controversial hire?
Levandowski was convicted of stealing self-driving trade secrets from Google, a case that cost Uber roughly $350 million and contributed to Kalanick’s ouster as Uber’s CEO in 2017. He was pardoned by President Trump in 2021 and joined Kalanick’s Atoms when it acquired his startup, Pronto, in 2026.
Is Atoms actually building a robotaxi service?
Atoms denies planning to enter the robotaxi market, calling itself an industrial software company. However, the Financial Times reports that sources familiar with Kalanick’s Atoms say it is developing robotaxi technology under Levandowski and has held preliminary talks with Uber about deploying it.
