One of Aurora’s autonomous Peterbilt semi-trucks. | Source: Aurora
Aurora brought in $83 million in revenue via collaborations with FedEx, Uber, Peterbilt, U.S. Xpress and Volvo. Its operating expenses, including stock-based compensation, totaled $813 million. In total, Aurora lost more than $750 million in 2021.
In November 2021, Aurora went public via a SPAC deal and began trading on the Nasdaq. These are its first full-year financial results since becoming a publicly-traded company.
“We ended the year with a very strong balance sheet, including $1.6 billion in cash, enabling us to continue to execute our mission of delivering the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly,” Richard Tame, chief financial officer of Aurora, wrote in the company’s shareholder letter.
The autonomous vehicle company, founded in 2017, plans to launch its product for autonomous trucking in late 2023, and its product for ride hailing in late 2024. Aurora’s fleet of autonomous trucks is now made up of 18 trucks, more than double the truck it had going into the fourth quarter of 2021.
FedEx and Aurora launched its pilot program in September 2021. Peterbilt trucks equipped with Aurora’s autonomous driving technology are hauling FedEx loads between Dallas and Houston. Aurora has a similar deal with Uber Freight, where it hauls loads for Uber customers.
It’s also working with Uber Freight to integrate access to its digital freight network within Aurora Horizon, its autonomous trucking product. The company’s hope that combining the two will give carrier tools to maximize operations and streamline supply chain operations.
Aurora is working with Peterbilt and Volvo to develop autonomous trucks. It’s also working with Volvo to support Volvo’s Autonomous Solutions’ transport solution in the U.S.
“Of course, building a transformative technology and a great company takes time, but we believe the progress our team has achieved in the last five years, and the foundational investments we have made, set us up for exceptional growth,” CEO and co-founder of Aurora Chris Urmson wrote in the company’s shareholder letter.
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