Aurora to list on Nasdaq in $11 billion SPAC merger

The American self-driving vehicle technology company Aurora Innovation Inc is merging with the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Reinvent Technology Partners to list its shares on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange under the ticker AUR.

CEO Chris Urmson’s comments on CNBC’s “TechCheck”

The SPAC listing is expected to raise $2.5 billion in cash and value Aurora at $11 billion. On CNBC’s “TechCheck”, CEO Chris Urmson expressed confidence that going public was the natural next step for Aurora.

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“This will unlock the capital we need to deliver the Aurora driver as a service at scale,” he said.

Urmson further highlighted that Aurora is committed to integrating its level 4 autonomous driving technology into Volvo or Paccar trucks before the start of 2024.

“We understand how hard this problem is to solve. We’ve spent the last four years building the foundation for this technology. Now it’s time to transition and deliver it.,” he added

Aurora bought Uber’s self-driving unit in 2020

Last year, Aurora bought Uber’s loss-making self-driving unit – an acquisition that Urmson says was meant to bring the partnerships (Toyota), the incredible technology, and the talent needed to actually turn level 4 autonomous driving into a reality.

“Our driver-as-a-service type business model is like a usage-based SAS model where we get paid for the utilisation of our driver market. We think that this will become a really exciting business quickly. On top of improved safety, equitable access, and reduced cost, it will also create an immense amount of value for our shareholders over time,” Urmson said.

Aurora, however, may have its work cut out because electric vehicle companies like Lordstown Motors, Nikola, and Canoo also went public via SPAC mergers last year and ended with volatile shares and SEC investigations. An uncomfortable history like that might make it challenging to woo investors.