Aurora CEO Chris Urmson issued comments on the company's public offering last week, writing that he feels "energized by this momentum."
The self-driving truck company initially announced a public offering of $350 million last week, before raising the offering to $420 million the next day. That raise included the additional option for underwriters to purchase $63 million in shares. Ultimately, the underwriters bought it all — the company raised $483 million.
"The endorsement from the market continues to validate our progress, path to scale and the fact we have the most talented team dedicated to bringing the transformative technology to our roads," Urmson wrote in a blog post. "With runway well into 2026, we expect this incremental capital to fund the initial phase of our scaling strategy. I feel energized by this momentum as we prepare to launch driverless trucks in Texas, planned for the end of this year."
Underwriters included Goldman Sachs, Allen & Co. and Morgan Stanley. Urmson credited the backing to "confidence in our leadership and responsible approach to technology," as well as the company's partner ecosystem, which includes Uber Freight, Paccar and Volvo. He also cited a belief in "the benefit of the technology and the economic opportunity it will create," adding that he envisions "a world where goods move safely 24/7/365 on driverless trucks."
"Trucking is the backbone of the American economy but our supply chains are fragile and the number of people who want to drive trucks has not kept up with the demand to move goods," Urmson wrote. "Trucking, as it stands today, is also dangerous — there are now half a million crashes involving trucks resulting in nearly 6,000 deaths every year. Simply put, this technology can't come soon enough."
Autonomous trucks have faced criticism for the nature of job displacement, notably from the Transport Workers Union of America. Urmson has previously said that "if you are a truck driver today, you will be able to retire a truck driver," noting that the company is currently only planning on long-haul driving, leaving room for short-term driving roles.
The funds provide a longer road forward for the company. With approximately $1 billion in cash on hand before the raise, the company only expected to have funds to last through the end of 2025. The company does not expect to be cash flow positive until 2028.
Kimberly Caughey Forrest, founder and chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners, attributed Aurora's decision to raise funds now to underlying trends within the artificial intelligence sector. She said that while there had been instability in AI-related stock earlier last week, values stabilized following what was perceived as positive announcements from Microsoft and chipmaker AMD.
Aurora spokesperson Rachel Chibidakis wrote in an email that the company's "continued momentum and more favorable market conditions made this an opportune time to raise additional capital."
The company's current scale plans involve a commercial launch at the end of this year, which will see completely driverless trucks on the road for the first time ever in Texas. The company currently tests vehicles with a person behind the wheel for emergencies.
