Sterling Anderson, a seasoned figure in the emerging autonomous vehicle industry and co-founder of Aurora, announced his resignation a week after the company initiated its commercial self-driving truck service in Texas.
Anderson, who served as the Chief Product Officer at Aurora, disclosed his resignation through a regulatory filing alongside the company’s first-quarter earnings report. His resignation is set to take effect on June 1, with his departure from the board scheduled for August 31.
According to the filing, Anderson’s resignation from the board was not due to any discord with the company regarding its operations, policies, or practices. Aurora and its board expressed deep gratitude for Anderson’s service and significant contributions over the years in his capacity as founder, Chief Product Officer, and board member.
During an earnings call, it was revealed that Anderson is moving to a senior leadership role at a renowned global company. Although Anderson was unavailable for comment, he addressed the company’s first-quarter earnings call, stating that leaving Aurora was a difficult decision, especially considering the exciting phase the company is experiencing. He noted that Aurora had reached a pivotal juncture, with its product strategy established, technology operational, and a team ready to scale it, along with noticeable industry momentum.
Before co-founding Aurora in 2017 with CEO Chris Urmson and Drew Bagnell, Anderson directed Tesla’s Autopilot program. The trio, considered pioneers in the autonomous vehicle sector, quickly garnered attention for Aurora, attracting prominent investors such as Sequoia Capital, Amazon, and T. Rowe Price Associates, and establishing several partnerships.
In December 2020, Aurora significantly enhanced its status by agreeing to acquire Uber’s self-driving unit in a complex deal valuing the combined entity at $10 billion. Aurora did not pay cash for Uber ATG, which had been valued at $7.25 billion following a $1 billion investment from Toyota, DENSO, and SoftBank’s Vision Fund in 2019. Instead, Uber transferred its ATG equity and invested $400 million into Aurora, obtaining a 26% stake in the combined company, as per a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Within four years, Aurora transitioned from a high-profile startup to a publicly traded company through a merger with the special purpose acquisition company Reinvent Technology Partners Y. This SPAC was launched by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, Zynga founder Mark Pincus, and managing partner Michael Thompson.
Despite being a deep tech firm still in development and years away from consistent revenue, Aurora has encountered challenges since going public in 2021. The company prioritized self-driving trucks, sidelining other projects such as robotaxis.
Recently, Aurora announced the successful launch of its self-driving truck service in Texas, just meeting its own deadline.
