Uber has killed off its self-driving truck division
As Uber faces challenges on multiple fronts the company has had to take the hard decision to double down on strategic bets.
Key takeaways
- The company remains committed to further developing its self-driving car platform, which killed a pedestrian earlier this year.
- Uber Freight, a separate service that helps connect shipping companies with drivers, is being spared though.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2018) 'Uber has killed off its self-driving truck division', 311 Institute, 17 August. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/uber-kills-off-its-self-driving-truck-division/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
Two years after Uber bought self-driving truck developer Otto for $680 million, the ride hailing company has announced that the Uber Advanced Technologies Group, their R&D arm, is shuttering its autonomous truck unit which ran a successful trial early last year. The company remains committed to further developing its self-driving car platform, which killed a pedestrian earlier this year. Uber Freight, a separate service that helps connect shipping companies with drivers, is being spared though.
"We've decided to stop development on our self-driving truck program and move forward exclusively with cars. We recently took the important step of returning to public roads in Pittsburgh, and as we look to continue that momentum, we believe having our entire team's energy and expertise focused on this effort is the best path forward," Eric Meyhofer, Head of Uber Advanced Technologies Group, which opened its first dedicated AI lab last year, said in an E-Mailed statement.
As recently as this past March, Uber was hard at work furthering the self-driving truck technology in Arizona, where the vehicles logged thousands of deliveries over the course of months but now all that’s moot.
In an internal E-Mail, first seen by TechCrunch, Meyhofer says that employees affected by the company’s decision will be pivoted to related autonomous projects, such as the ATG's efforts to build a new in-house LiDAR package, otherwise they'll have the option to move to the company's Pittsburg head office, or accept a redundancy package.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
As Uber faces challenges on multiple fronts the company has had to take the hard decision to double down on strategic bets.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
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Sources and further reading
- logged thousands of deliveries engadget.com
- Ubers self driving trucks division is dead long live uber self driving cars techcrunch.com
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 17 August 2018. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2018). Uber has killed off its self-driving truck division. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/uber-kills-off-its-self-driving-truck-division/
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