Travis Kalanick's rebranded Atoms raises $1.7B, Ben Horowitz joins board
Travis Kalanick, who co-founded Uber, is back in the spotlight with his rebranded holding company, Atoms, which just raised a massive $1.7 billion.
The funding was led by Andreessen Horowitz (Ben Horowitz is even joining the board) and includes support from Bain Capital, Fifth Wall, and Uber itself.
It's a bit of a full-circle moment for Kalanick after his dramatic exit from Uber in 2017.
Atoms buys Pronto, pursues industrial automation
Atoms (formerly CloudKitchens) wants to bring serious automation to old-school industries like manufacturing and real estate.
Their goal? Build "atoms-based computers" that connect everything from factories to transport under one system.
They've already snapped up Pronto, a heavy industry automation company run by his former Uber colleague Anthony Levandowski, and are eyeing big moves into mining and robot tech next.
Ben Horowitz praised Kalanick's drive and gritty work ethic, saying he expects Atoms to boost productivity across industries, much like Uber did for ridesharing.