Self-driving truck startup Aurora Innovation raises $483M in share sale ahead of commercial launch

by with No Comment Tech

Aurora Innovation self-driving truck

Image Credits: Aurora Innovation

Self-driving technology company Aurora Innovation was hoping to raise hundreds of millions in additional capital as it races toward a driverless commercial launch by the end of 2024. The company, which had arranged to sell up to $420 million worth of shares, exceeded its goal and raised $483 million.

The newly raised funds come a little over a year since Aurora completed a capital raise of $820 million from a public and concurrent private offering of its stock.

“This raise is a testament to investors’ confidence in Aurora’s ability to be a company for the long term, prompted by a recent Analyst Day where investors experienced driverless truck rides, and recent milestones that underscore the strength of our partner ecosystem to deploy at scale,” company spokesperson Rachel Chibidakis told TechCrunch in an email.

Aurora made its public debut through a special purpose acquisition merger in 2021, and its stock has traded as high as $13.12 on opening day. Aurora shares closed Friday at $3.84. Shares rose more than 2% in after-hours trading.

Aurora is pursuing a driver-as-a-service model, wherein carriers purchase trucks with the Aurora Driver tech on board and then offer their services via those trucks to shippers. But the company is planning to go to market as a carrier, offering up to 20 autonomous Paccar and Volvo trucks to shippers at the end of this year.

Aurora first revealed Thursday plans to sell up to $420 million worth of Class A common stock to underwriters Goldman Sachs, Allen & Company and Morgan Stanley, according to an SEC filing. The Thursday agreement came a day after Aurora filed a prospectus offering to sell $350 million worth of shares. Someone familiar with the matter told TechCrunch that due to strong investor demand, the offering had been upsized to $420 million.

Aurora expected the net proceeds from the sale to bring in about $405 million, or around $466 million “if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full,” after deducting the usual discounts, commissions and offering expenses, per an updated filing. The deal closed Friday afternoon pushed the raise to $483 million.

Aurora did not respond Thursday to questions about how it intends to use the net proceeds. The Thursday filing provided few hints, stating vaguely that the company will put the money toward “working capital and other general corporate purposes.” The company also wrote in its filing that it’ll first invest the proceeds from this offering into “short and long-term investment grade instruments, certificates of deposit or guaranteed obligations.”

Aurora provided more detail after the deal closed Friday.

“This opportunistic raise gives us runway well into 2026, putting us on the path to deploy driverless trucks at scale and become a cash flow positive company, which we expect in 2028,” said Chibidakis, adding that as the company approaches its planned commercial launch that enthusiasm is building. “Our continued momentum and more favorable market conditions made this an opportune time to raise additional capital.”

The bid for more funds comes as Aurora reports its second-quarter results. As of June 30, 2024, Aurora had $402 million in cash and cash equivalents and $618 million in short-term investments. Not including the proceeds from its offering, the company expects this to be enough to fund operations into the fourth quarter of 2025.

In Q2 2024, Aurora spent $198 million, which is a direct loss because the startup isn’t yet pulling in any revenue. 

The company is slated to start its commercial service later this year on the Uber Freight network. In June, the two companies announced a multi-year collaboration that will see Aurora’s autonomous driving technology offered on the Uber Freight network through 2030.

Update: This story was updated to reflect that Aurora’s $618 million in short-term investments are essentially liquid.

This story was originally published August 1, 2024 at 9:34 am PT. It has been updated to include estimated proceeds per an additional SEC filing. The article was updated Friday at 4:31 pm PT after Aurora had announced the final raise amount.

Self-driving truck startup Aurora Innovation raises $483M in share sale ahead of commercial launch

by with No Comment Tech

Aurora Innovation self-driving truck

Image Credits: Aurora Innovation

Self-driving technology company Aurora Innovation was hoping to raise hundreds of millions in additional capital as it races toward a driverless commercial launch by the end of 2024. The company, which had arranged to sell up to $420 million worth of shares, exceeded its goal and raised $483 million.

The newly raised funds come a little over a year since Aurora completed a capital raise of $820 million from a public and concurrent private offering of its stock.

“This raise is a testament to investors’ confidence in Aurora’s ability to be a company for the long term, prompted by a recent Analyst Day where investors experienced driverless truck rides, and recent milestones that underscore the strength of our partner ecosystem to deploy at scale,” company spokesperson Rachel Chibidakis told TechCrunch in an email.

Aurora made its public debut through a special purpose acquisition merger in 2021, and its stock has traded as high as $13.12 on opening day. Aurora shares closed Friday at $3.84. Shares rose more than 2% in after-hours trading.

Aurora is pursuing a driver-as-a-service model, wherein carriers purchase trucks with the Aurora Driver tech on board and then offer their services via those trucks to shippers. But the company is planning to go to market as a carrier, offering up to 20 autonomous Paccar and Volvo trucks to shippers at the end of this year.

Aurora first revealed Thursday plans to sell up to $420 million worth of Class A common stock to underwriters Goldman Sachs, Allen & Company and Morgan Stanley, according to an SEC filing. The Thursday agreement came a day after Aurora filed a prospectus offering to sell $350 million worth of shares. Someone familiar with the matter told TechCrunch that due to strong investor demand, the offering had been upsized to $420 million.

Aurora expected the net proceeds from the sale to bring in about $405 million, or around $466 million “if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full,” after deducting the usual discounts, commissions and offering expenses, per an updated filing. The deal closed Friday afternoon pushed the raise to $483 million.

Aurora did not respond Thursday to questions about how it intends to use the net proceeds. The Thursday filing provided few hints, stating vaguely that the company will put the money toward “working capital and other general corporate purposes.” The company also wrote in its filing that it’ll first invest the proceeds from this offering into “short and long-term investment grade instruments, certificates of deposit or guaranteed obligations.”

Aurora provided more detail after the deal closed Friday.

“This opportunistic raise gives us runway well into 2026, putting us on the path to deploy driverless trucks at scale and become a cash flow positive company, which we expect in 2028,” said Chibidakis, adding that as the company approaches its planned commercial launch that enthusiasm is building. “Our continued momentum and more favorable market conditions made this an opportune time to raise additional capital.”

The bid for more funds comes as Aurora reports its second-quarter results. As of June 30, 2024, Aurora had $402 million in cash and cash equivalents and $618 million in short-term investments. Not including the proceeds from its offering, the company expects this to be enough to fund operations into the fourth quarter of 2025.

In Q2 2024, Aurora spent $198 million, which is a direct loss because the startup isn’t yet pulling in any revenue. 

The company is slated to start its commercial service later this year on the Uber Freight network. In June, the two companies announced a multi-year collaboration that will see Aurora’s autonomous driving technology offered on the Uber Freight network through 2030.

Update: This story was updated to reflect that Aurora’s $618 million in short-term investments are essentially liquid.

This story was originally published August 1, 2024 at 9:34 am PT. It has been updated to include estimated proceeds per an additional SEC filing. The article was updated Friday at 4:31 pm PT after Aurora had announced the final raise amount.

Self-driving truck startup Aurora Innovation to sell up to $420M in shares ahead of commercial launch

by with No Comment Tech

Aurora Innovation self-driving truck

Image Credits: Aurora Innovation

Self-driving technology company Aurora Innovation is looking to raise hundreds of millions in additional capital as it races toward a driverless commercial launch by the end of 2024. 

Aurora is pursuing a driver-as-a-service model, wherein carriers purchase trucks with the Aurora Driver tech on board and then offer their services via those trucks to shippers. But the company is planning to go to market as a carrier, offering up to 20 autonomous Paccar and Volvo trucks to shippers at the end of this year.

Per an SEC filing Thursday morning, Aurora has now arranged to sell up to $420 million worth of Class A common stock to underwriters Goldman Sachs, Allen & Company and Morgan Stanley. The company made its public debut through a special purpose acquisition merger in 2021, and its stock has traded as high as $13.12 on opening day.

The underwriters have committed to buying the shares from Aurora at $3.4830 per share, which is slightly less than the public offering price to account for their fees and compensation. If the deal goes through on August 2, they’ll resell the shares to the public at $3.60 per share. 

Aurora’s stock price climbed almost 29% to $4.50 after the filing dropped. 

The agreement comes a day after Aurora filed a prospectus offering to sell $350 million worth of shares. Someone familiar with the matter told TechCrunch that due to strong investor demand, the offering was upsized to $420 million.

Aurora expects the net proceeds from the sale to bring in about $405 million, or around $466 million “if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full,” after deducting the usual discounts, commissions and offering expenses, per an updated filing.

Aurora did not respond to questions about how it intends to use the net proceeds, but the filing states that the company will put the money toward “working capital and other general corporate purposes.” What that means specifically, perhaps even Aurora doesn’t know. The company also wrote in its filing that it’ll first invest the proceeds from this offering into “short and long-term investment grade instruments, certificates of deposit or guaranteed obligations.”

The bid for more funds comes as Aurora reports its second-quarter results. As of June 30, 2024, Aurora had $402 million in cash and cash equivalents and $618 million in short-term investments. Not including the proceeds from its offering, the company expects this to be enough to fund operations into the fourth quarter of 2025.

In Q2 2024, Aurora spent $198 million, which is a direct loss because the startup isn’t yet pulling in any revenue. 

Perhaps Aurora is counting on future revenue to offset its costs. The company is slated to start its commercial service later this year on the Uber Freight network. In June, the two companies announced a multi-year collaboration that will see Aurora’s autonomous driving technology offered on the Uber Freight network through 2030.

Update: This story was updated to reflect that Aurora’s $618 million in short-term investments are essentially liquid.

This story was originally published August 1, 2024 at 9:34 am PT. It has been updated to include estimated proceeds per an additional SEC filing.

Self-driving truck startup Aurora Innovation to sell up to $420M in shares ahead of commercial launch

by with No Comment Tech

Aurora Innovation self-driving truck

Image Credits: Aurora Innovation

Self-driving technology company Aurora Innovation is looking to raise hundreds of millions in additional capital as it races towards a driverless commercial launch by the end of 2024. 

Aurora, which went public in 2021 through a special purpose acquisition merger, is pursuing a driver-as-a-service model, wherein carriers purchase trucks with the Aurora Driver tech on board and then offer their services via those trucks to shippers. But the company is planning to go to market as a carrier, offering up to 20 autonomous Paccar and Volvo trucks to shippers at the end of this year.

Per an SEC filing Thursday morning, Aurora has now arranged to sell up to $420 million worth of Class A common stock to underwriters Goldman Sachs, Allen & Company and Morgan Stanley. The company made its public debut through a special purpose acquisition merger in 2021, and its stock has traded as high as $13.12 on opening day.

The underwriters have committed to buying the shares from Aurora at $3.4830 per share, which is slightly less than the public offering price to account for their fees and compensation. If the deal goes through on August 2, they’ll resell the shares to the public at $3.60 per share. 

Aurora’s stock price climbed almost 29% to $4.50 after the filing dropped. 

The agreement comes a day after Aurora filed a prospectus offering to sell $350 million worth of  shares. Someone familiar with the matter told TechCrunch that due to strong investor demand, the offering was upsized to $420 million. 

Aurora did not respond to questions about how it intends to use the net proceeds, but the filing states that the company will put the money towards “working capital and other general corporate purposes.” What that means specifically, perhaps even Aurora doesn’t know. The company also wrote in its filing that it’ll first invest the proceeds from this offering into “short and long-term investment grade instruments, certificates of deposit or guaranteed obligations.”

The bid for more funds comes as Aurora reports its second-quarter results. As of June 30, 2024, Aurora had $402 million in cash and cash equivalents and $618 million in short-term investments. Not including the proceeds from its offering, the company expects this to be enough to fund operations into the fourth quarter of 2025.

In Q2 2024, Aurora spent $198 million, which is a direct loss because the startup isn’t yet pulling in any revenue. 

Perhaps Aurora is counting on future revenue to offset its costs. The company is slated to start its commercial service later this year on the Uber Freight network. In June, the two companies announced a multi-year collaboration that will see Aurora’s autonomous driving technology offered on the Uber Freight network through 2030.

Update: This story was updated to reflect that Aurora’s $618 million in short-term investments are essentially liquid.

OTB Ventures co-founders and managing partners Adam Niewinski (left) and Marcin Hejka in Warsaw in 2020

With backing from NATO Innovation Fund, OTB Ventures will invest $185M into European deep tech

by with No Comment Tech

OTB Ventures co-founders and managing partners Adam Niewinski (left) and Marcin Hejka in Warsaw in 2020

Image Credits: Piotr Waniorek/zelaznastudio.pl / OTB Ventures

Not a day goes by without some confirmation that ​​deep tech is on the rise in Europe — and public and private capital investors are here for it.

Latest case in point, OTB Ventures, which closed a $185 million fund to invest in deep tech in Europe that it will mostly deploy at the Series A stage. However, up to 10% could be allocated to seed funding, and more than 50% to follow-on investments.

OTB’s early-growth fund — its second and largest to date — is once again backed by the European Investment Fund (EIF), with support from the European Union under the InvestEU Fund. The venture firm welcomes this support, as well as EIF’s evolving investment thesis, OTB co-founder and managing partner Adam Niewiński told TechCrunch.

“We see EIF focusing more and more on real innovative technologies — we can call it deep tech, we can call it real tech, but we are basically talking about real disruptive technologies coming out of Europe, and being able to compete globally, or not only compete globally but lead global tech innovation.”

Another deep tech supporter made its entry on OTB’s cap table: NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), which is starting to deploy the €1 billion it will invest in funds and in startups from its backing members.

NATO announces $1B fund to back startups supporting ‘safety, freedom and human empowerment’

“Our first 1 billion flagship fund invests at the intersection of deep tech, defense, security and resilience, with themes including energy, quantum computing, autonomy, climate, industrials, space and biotechnology. OTB fully aligns with our mission,” NIF managing partner Andrea Traversone said in a statement.

OTB’s take on deep tech focuses on four verticals that do sound fairly NATO-compatible: space tech, enterprise automation and AI, cybersecurity and fintech infrastructure. That would be where fintech goes a bit more technically innovative; this could be AI-enabled anti-money laundering like Fund 1’s portfolio company Silent Eight, for instance.

Since OTB already started making investments out of this fund following its first close in November 2022, we already have a sense of where it will go. For instance, its nine investments so far include German startups KYP.ai, a productivity platform, and Semron, which is developing innovative chips.

Semron wants to replace chip transistors with ‘memcapacitors’

On the charged question of dual-use technology, fellow OTB co-founder and managing partner Marcin Hejka was keen to dispel misconceptions. From space and IoT AI to 3D printing, “it’s absolutely natural that the defense sector is applying more and more technologies with civilian roots. It shouldn’t be confused with investing in weapons, it’s completely not that.”

We wished we had asked that same question to NIF, but this will have to wait, as it declined to be interviewed for this article.

This means we can’t confirm either whether the funding that went to OTB could also have gone to, say, a French or Austrian deep tech fund. Like NIF, OTB is headquartered in Amsterdam, and its other office is in Warsaw, where NIF recently opened its CEE office. Perhaps more importantly, both the Netherlands and Poland are contributors to NIF.

Per NIF’s rules, it will only “make direct investments into start-ups located in any of the 23 participating Allied nations” — a list of backers that doesn’t fully overlap with NATO or EU members, and notably doesn’t include France. However, NIF’s geographic scope is less clear when it comes to the indirect investments, since it only refers to “deep tech funds with a trans-Atlantic impact.”

Either way, OTB’s roots have benefits. The firm boasts “an unfair advantage in accessing Central and Eastern European dealflow,” and this is also playing off on its cap table. Its new fund is backed by CEE entrepreneurs, and not only ones it previously backed: Its LPs include Snowflake co-founder Marcin Zukowski, who was already far along in its journey when OTB was founded in 2017.

OTB may have missed out on backing Snowflake, but it has other success stories under its belt with Fund 1, including BabbleLabs’ acquisition by Cisco in 2020 and Minit’s sale to Microsoft in March 2022.

It will likely take a few more years for Fund II to lead to M&As, but Niewiński has broader hopes. “Our new fund empowers us to further our mission of supporting disruptive deep tech startups that are leveraging Europe’s outstanding tech talent pool — the biggest natural resource that our continent can offer.”