Aurora Innovation has been given an extra $820 million. That should give the company making self-driving cars enough time and money to get them on the market in 2024 and 2025.
The Pittsburgh company was able to raise $600 million by selling 222.2 million shares privately. The price of each share was $2.70. At $3 per share, they want the people to give them $73.3 million.
The price of Aurora stock on Thursday was $2.92. Since it hit a low of $1.19 in December, the price of the stock has gone up by more than 120%.
Aurora Innovation’s CEO, Chris Urmson, on the Company’s Financials and Future Plans
Chris Urmson, a pioneer in driverless vehicles, helped start Aurora in 2017. At the end of the first quarter, the company had about $966 million in cash and short-term assets. Even though the company has a good financial sheet, Urmson told a freight news release during his April visit to Truck Tech that the company still needs more money to hit production.
A company spokesperson stated that raising a significant amount from sophisticated investors on Wall Street during uncertain market conditions reflects the market’s confidence in Aurora’s progress and their capability to successfully commercialize autonomous vehicles on a large scale.
Aurora Innovation’s CFO, Dave Maday, on the Company’s Financial Progress and Future Plans
Dave Maday, who took over as CFO from Richard Tame in June, suggested that a pay raise like this could happen. In a June 15 news release, he stated that the organization is at an exciting point as they approach commercialization and enhanced financial performance.
It looks like some competitors have slowed down their progress, while others have quit the race altogether. Aurora is the best company when it comes to fully driverless hauling. The plan is to send robotic trucks on roads between big towns that are in the middle of the road. Aurora said in April that the system was “complete” and that the only things left to do were to validate it and improve its speed.
Aurora Innovation’s Partnerships with OEMs and Their Redundant Chassis Development
Aurora works with Paccar Inc. and Volvo Group, which are both original equipment makers, to make extra frames. They have backup steering and stopping systems in case they break down in a really bad way. The trucks can also do a move called “fallback,” in which they move to the side of the road.
Roger Nielsen, former CEO of Daimler Truck North America, stated on Truck Tech that companies that have remained in business and are aiming for success all have a partnership with a truck OEM. Full integration into the electronics of the vehicle is critical.
It is not possible to reverse engineer your autonomous driving stack for an OEM that is unwilling to cooperate. It is not possible to do it and ensure that the truck operates properly or safely.
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