Travis Kalanick, the founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Uber, has launched a new robotics company called Atoms, expanding his focus beyond food delivery infrastructure and into industrial automation. The venture incorporates his existing ghost kitchen company, CloudKitchens, and is targeting opportunities across food, mining, and transportation. According to Atoms’ website and Kalanick’s recent public comments, the company is developing a “wheelbase for robots” designed for specialized, non-humanoid machines that can operate at industrial scale. Kalanick said the company is focused on robots built for specific tasks rather than humanoid systems.
Mining appears to be one of Atoms’ first areas of expansion. Kalanick said he is close to acquiring Pronto, the autonomous vehicle startup focused on industrial and mining sites founded by his former Uber colleague Anthony Levandowski, and added that he is already the company’s largest investor. The move marks a return to autonomy for Kalanick, who helped launch Uber’s self-driving division before leaving the company in 2017. While Atoms has not detailed plans for consumer transportation, Kalanick suggested that solving movement in the physical world could create broader opportunities over time.
