Travis Kalanick is Back with Atoms to Build Physical Automation to Transform Industry and Move the World

Atoms, building physical automation to transform industry and move the world, led by Travis Kalanick, has announced a $1.7B equity investment with lead investor a16z and Ben Horowitz joining the board.

As part of this investment, the various businesses were consolidated into a single Atoms equity structure. Marc and Ben have shared a long-standing relationship, and a partnership at Uber came remarkably close in 2011. Responsibility for the missed opportunity has long been debated, but it ultimately came down to everyone involved. Uber arguably felt the impact in 2017 by not having Marc on its board.

This round represents unfinished business, completing the bits-to-atoms journey that began at Uber, continued through CloudKitchens, and now enters its next chapter at Atoms.

At its core, it is about people. Early entrepreneurs work with those willing to take a chance on them; success brings the opportunity to build with those who share a commitment to excellence. Partnering with Ben and Marc closes a loop that began in 2011, bringing together decades of experience and a shared passion for building.

Following the launch of ATOMS after years in stealth, the strong response created an opportunity to connect the broader Physical AI vision with the business being built today, and explain what leading investors see in the company’s future.

Bits to Atoms.

Sixteen years ago, a journey began to digitize the physical world, using software to understand, predict, and control physical systems. The vision: atoms-based computers where CPU becomes manufacturing, storage becomes real estate, and networks become transportation.

Uber was the first chapter, a network for the physical world that digitized transportation at scale. CloudKitchens followed, a food computer combining manufacturing and real estate.

The next chapter is ATOMS: an OEM building atoms-based computers for major industrial sectors. The mission is to accelerate the coming industrial revolution, where industries built around mining, manufacturing, construction, transportation, and food production undergo massive digital transformation.

Powered by Industrial AI, the combination of software, sensors, robotics, and AI, the next decade will reshape trillion-dollar industries and unlock unprecedented productivity. This is the Age of Atoms.

The Age of Atoms.

The ability to uncover valuable unknown truths will define the pace of progress in the decades ahead. The builders driving this transformation will face humanity’s greatest challenge yet: overcoming nature’s resistance to change and bringing complex systems and industries into a new industrial era.

This new generation of industrialists will require vision, grit, systems thinking, creativity, resilience, empathy, discipline, and the ability to solve complex problems across disciplines.

Atoms represents a commitment to becoming one of these builders, creating the progress machines that power the next industrial revolution.

With the support of a16z and other capital partners, the journey continues to complete unfinished business and accelerate the Age of Atoms.