Travis Kalanick’s Atoms secures $1.7 billion from a16z, Uber, others to expand into industrial AI

Atoms, the robotics and industrial artificial intelligence company founded by Uber founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick, has raised $1.7 billion in a funding round led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). The deal includes both equity and debt financing, with Uber among the companies backing Kalanick’s latest venture.

Ben Horowitz, co-founder of a16z, confirmed in a post on X that he will join Atoms’ board as part of the investment.

The funding will support Atoms’ efforts to develop physical automation systems for large industrial sectors, including mining, construction, heavy transport and food production. The company is building what it calls “Industrial AI”, a combination of software, sensors, robotics and artificial intelligence designed to automate operations across physical industries.


In a LinkedIn post announcing the investment, Atoms said its operating businesses have been merged into a single Atoms equity structure. The company said its operations are organised around three areas; Atoms Food, which focuses on infrastructure for food production, Atoms Mining, aimed at improving productivity in mines, and Atoms Transport, which it described as a ‘wheelbase for robots.’

“Industrial AI is what will power the next industrial revolution,” Atoms said in the post, adding that it has spent eight years building its technology. The company had stated that the latest funding will support the next phase of its development, including building more machines, increasing deployments and tackling multiple complex challenges in the physical world.

Atoms has also expanded its autonomous technology capabilities through the acquisition of self-driving startup Pronto, founded by Anthony Levandowski, a former Uber engineer. Pronto developed autonomous driving technology for mining and industrial applications. The acquisition adds autonomous vehicle technology to Atoms’ broader portfolio as it works on automation systems for industries that depend on physical operations.

The company’s approach is centred on applying AI and robotics to sectors where large-scale physical processes remain essential to production and logistics. Through its food, mining and transport businesses, Atoms is targeting operations that involve producing, extracting and moving the goods and resources that support industrial activity.

The company said the latest funding will allow it to work on multiple industrial challenges simultaneously, with plans for more machines and deployments.

Atoms is also looking to bring more people into the business as it enters this phase of expansion. In the same funding announcement on Linkedin, the company invited engineers and builders interested in working on complex industrial systems to join its team.