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UPDATED: 8/27/18 9:32 pm ET - adds details Toyota Motor Corp. will invest $500 million in Uber to jointly work on developing self-driving cars, the companies said on Monday, a bid by both to catch up to rivals in the hotly competitive autonomous driving business. Toyota, one of the world's largest carmakers, and Uber Technologies Inc., the leading ride-hailing service, are widely seen as lagging the competition in developing self-driving cars. The partnership deepens an existing relationship and reflects CEO Dara Khosrowshahi's strategy of Uber developing autonomous vehicles through partnerships, rather than on its own. The deal also breathes new life into Uber's self-driving business. Since a self-driving Uber SUV killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Ariz., in March, Uber has removed its robot cars from the road, laid off hundreds of test drivers and shuttered operations in Arizona, its autonomous testing hub. The investment values Uber at $72 billion, matching the valuation Uber...

Heather Somerville Reuters August 27, 2018 20:43 CET Toyota will invest $500 million in Uber to jointly work on developing self-driving cars, the companies said on Monday, a bid by both to catch up to rivals in the hotly competitive autonomous driving business. Toyota and Uber Technologies, the leading ride-hailing service, are widely seen as lagging the competition in developing self-driving cars. The partnership deepens an existing relationship and reflects CEO Dara Khosrowshahi's strategy of Uber developing autonomous vehicles through partnerships, rather than on its own. The deal also breathes new life into Uber's self-driving business. Since a self-driving Uber SUV killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona, in March, Uber has removed its robot cars from the road, laid off hundreds of test drivers and shuttered operations in Arizona, its autonomous testing hub. The investment values Uber at $72 billion, matching the valuation Uber received in a deal with Alphabet self-driving ...

Zoox Inc., an autonomous driving startup recently valued at $3.2 billion, dismissed its CEO, Tim Kentley-Klay, after closing a massive financing round in July. Kentley-Klay tweeted on Wednesday that the firing came "without a warning, cause or right of reply." "Today was Silicon Valley up to its worst tricks," he wrote. Jesse Levinson, the company’s other co-founder and chief technology officer, will be promoted to president, said a person familiar with the decision who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. The person declined to offer an explanation for the move. Carl Bass, the former CEO of Autodesk and a Zoox board member, was named executive chairman for the company. In an emotional missive on Twitter, Kentley-Klay criticized the board for their decision. "Rather than working through the issues in an epic startup for the win, the board chose the path of fear," he wrote, charging that the directors were "optimizing for a l...