Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is reportedly launching a new autonomous vehicle startup. Uber is providing significant financial backing for the venture. Kalanick is currently in discussions to acquire Pronto.ai, an autonomous technology firm.
Anthony Levandowski founded Pronto.ai and would reunite with Kalanick through this deal. Kalanick previously led Uber’s acquisition of Levandowski’s former startup, Otto. That transaction triggered a high-stakes trade secrets lawsuit from Google’s self-driving unit, Waymo. Waymo alleged Levandowski stole confidential files before his departure from Google.