According to a regulatory filing on Friday, Dara Khosrowshahi is leaving the board of Aurora Innovation. This is a firm that develops autonomous vehicle technology and states he wants to focus on his continued duties as Uber’s CEO. They also cut back on external board commitments.
The resignation of Khosrowshahi took effect on Tuesday. According to Aurora, there was no conflict with the company that led to Khosrowshahi’s decision to leave the board.
The CEO of Uber and Aurora Innovation have a long history together. Uber sold its own autonomous vehicle division, Uber ATG, to Aurora in 2020. At the time, the agreement called for Uber to give up its ownership of ATG and invest $400 million in Aurora. This will grant it a 26 percent share in the merged business. As part of the agreement, Khosrowshahi became a member of Aurora’s board.
The ride-hail and delivery behemoth kept its relationship with Aurora through Uber Freight. Its freight brokerage network links shippers and carriers. Uber and Aurora announced in June that they would work together for several years to integrate vehicles with Aurora’s technologies into the Uber Freight network.
However, Uber and Aurora do not have an exclusive agreement. Additionally, the business has an agreement with Waabi. This is a self-driving truck startup that was started by Raquel Urtasun. The former head of R&D and chief scientist of Uber ATG.
Khosrowshahi will be replaced on Aurora’s board by Shailen Bhatt. He is the senior vice president and chief operational officer of AtkinsRéalis. Before this, Bhatt was employed with the Federal Highway Administration.
Khosrowshahi’s departure from the board follows a few weeks after Aurora’s general counsel, Nolan Shenai. He announced his plan to resign with effect from January 6, 2025. Shenai’s duties will be assumed by Aurora’s president, Ossa Fisher, while the business looks for a replacement.
Read Also:
