Uber backs Travis Kalanick's Atoms in $1.7 billion robotics round

Atoms, Travis Kalanick’s robotics company, closed a $1.7 billion equity round on Wednesday. It had backing from Andreessen Horowitz.

The check is one of the largest so far in a physical AI funding boom that has already pulled in record capital in 2026.

Uber invests in the founder it once forced out

Andreessen Horowitz is the lead investor, and its general partner Ben Horowitz is getting a seat on the board. On the equity side, new investors include Bain Capital, Fifth Wall, Chemistry, A*, K5 Global, Abstract, SV Angel and Alpha Square Group.

The round saw investment from Uber, a company Kalanick co-founded. It’s been about ten years since its board pushed him out as CEO in 2017. The ousting came after complaints of sexual harassment, discrimination and workplace culture.

But Kalanick saw the deal as a reconciliation, not just with Uber. He wrote on X that a collaboration with Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz almost happened back in 2011. “In 2017 Uber suffered the consequences of not having Marc on the board – iykyk,” he wrote.

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