Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is back, now betting $1.7 bn on industrial AI with ATOMS
While Uber changed how people move through cities, Kalanick believes ATOMS has the potential to transform how the world's physical economy functions.
- Jul 23, 2026,
- Updated Jul 23, 2026 12:04 PM IST
Travis Kalanick is back. Nearly a decade after being forced out of Uber amid one of Silicon Valley's most dramatic corporate shake-ups, the entrepreneur who reshaped urban transportation is betting big on the future of industrial AI.
His new company, ATOMS, has emerged from more than eight years in stealth mode with a $1.7 billion equity investment led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture capital firms. The funding also brings a16z co-founder Ben Horowitz onto the company's board.
The equity round drew participation from Bain Capital, Uber, Fifth Wall, Chemistry, A*, K5 Global, Abstract, SV Angel, and Alpha Square Group. Separately, ATOMS has secured debt financing from major financial institutions, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, and Barclays.
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For Kalanick, the deal is more than another funding round. He said he came close to partnering with Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz in 2011, during Uber's formative years, but the deal never materialised. Nearly 15 years later, the partnership has finally come together.
“On many levels, this round is a bit of unfinished business,” Kalanick said, describing the investment as fuel to complete the “bits-to-atoms” journey he began at Uber and continued through CloudKitchens.
Kalanick sees ATOMS as the culmination of a 16-year vision to digitise the physical world.
Uber transformed transportation by building a software network for moving people. CloudKitchens focused on modernising food production and commercial real estate. Now, ATOMS aims to build what Kalanick describes as “atoms-based computers” for entire industrial sectors.
The company is targeting industries that remain largely untouched by digital transformation, including manufacturing, mining, construction, logistics, and food production.
While Uber changed how people move through cities, Kalanick believes ATOMS has the potential to transform how the world's physical economy functions. He says the next wave of economic growth will come not from digitising information, but from digitising the physical economy.
“Industrial AI is getting ready to power the next Industrial Revolution. Tesla calls it Amazing Abundance. We call it the Age of Atoms,” he said.
Travis Kalanick is back. Nearly a decade after being forced out of Uber amid one of Silicon Valley's most dramatic corporate shake-ups, the entrepreneur who reshaped urban transportation is betting big on the future of industrial AI.
His new company, ATOMS, has emerged from more than eight years in stealth mode with a $1.7 billion equity investment led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture capital firms. The funding also brings a16z co-founder Ben Horowitz onto the company's board.
The equity round drew participation from Bain Capital, Uber, Fifth Wall, Chemistry, A*, K5 Global, Abstract, SV Angel, and Alpha Square Group. Separately, ATOMS has secured debt financing from major financial institutions, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, and Barclays.
MUST READ | Booking an Uber cab? These 4 new safety features could make your next ride safer
For Kalanick, the deal is more than another funding round. He said he came close to partnering with Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz in 2011, during Uber's formative years, but the deal never materialised. Nearly 15 years later, the partnership has finally come together.
“On many levels, this round is a bit of unfinished business,” Kalanick said, describing the investment as fuel to complete the “bits-to-atoms” journey he began at Uber and continued through CloudKitchens.
Kalanick sees ATOMS as the culmination of a 16-year vision to digitise the physical world.
Uber transformed transportation by building a software network for moving people. CloudKitchens focused on modernising food production and commercial real estate. Now, ATOMS aims to build what Kalanick describes as “atoms-based computers” for entire industrial sectors.
The company is targeting industries that remain largely untouched by digital transformation, including manufacturing, mining, construction, logistics, and food production.
While Uber changed how people move through cities, Kalanick believes ATOMS has the potential to transform how the world's physical economy functions. He says the next wave of economic growth will come not from digitising information, but from digitising the physical economy.
“Industrial AI is getting ready to power the next Industrial Revolution. Tesla calls it Amazing Abundance. We call it the Age of Atoms,” he said.