Travis Kalanick Unveils New Self-Driving Venture 'Atoms'

Travis Kalanick, co-founder and former CEO of Uber, has launched a new venture called Atoms focused on building specialized industrial robots . The company, which absorbs Kalanick's ghost kitchen venture CloudKitchens, is structured into three divisions: Atoms Food, Atoms Mining, and Atoms Transport, each targeting distinct industrial applications.

Atoms' core product is what Kalanick describes as a "wheelbase for robots" — a standardized mobility platform with integrated power, compute, and sensors that can be customized for different industrial tasks . The company is also reportedly close to acquiring Pronto, an autonomous-vehicle startup focused on industrial and mining sites founded by former Uber colleague Anthony Levandowski.

The launch marks Kalanick's most ambitious move since departing UBER, with the venture reportedly operating in stealth for eight years. Unlike competitors pursuing humanoid robots, Atoms is betting on purpose-built machines for specific industrial verticals — a strategy that could offer faster paths to revenue but faces intense competition from well-funded players in each segment.