Vehicle company Aurora Innovation Inc., which is known for its autonomous technology, just released its quarter three earnings for this year. A $1.2 billion in cash and short-term investments were closed by the company as they reported.
HESPERIA, CA - MARCH 04: Trucks park at a truck stop as prices for diesel and gasoline continue to rise and the cost of crude oil soars to a record high of more than $100 per barrel on March 4, 2008 near Hesperia, California. The price of crude hit the highest figure ever this week at $103.95 a barrel. The statewide average of $3.499 for a gallon of self-serve unleaded, along with the new record San Francisco average of $3.643, months before the peak driving season is fueling speculation of $4.00 a gallon unleaded by the end of Summer. The national average of $3.168 is six cents shy of an all-time high. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
David McNew/Getty Images
(Photo : David McNew/Getty Images) HESPERIA, CA - MARCH 04: Trucks park at a truck stop as prices for diesel and gasoline continue to rise and the cost of crude oil soars to a record high of more than $100 per barrel on March 4, 2008 near Hesperia, California.
Q3 2022 Earnings
Based on a report by TechCrunch, Aurora Innovation released its third-quarter earnings for this year which resulted in closing $1.2 billion in cash and short-term investments. As per the company, these are enough funds as they plan to launch a commercialized truck vehicle sometime in 2024.
$200 million was the total loss of Aurora during the third quarter, which doubled up from last year's third quarter costing only $128 million. Despite the high number compared to last year, it is an improvement from the previous quarter as the total loss for the second quarter this year was nearly $1.2 billion.
If the company maintains these numbers until 2024, Aurora will be having enough funds and will not be needing to raise more cash for the commercial launch. But knowing that the company is still a pre-revenue startup, TechCrunch stated that they will be needing to "incur tremendous costs in R&D" for them to launch their vehicles in the market.
Aurora's State
As per Chief Financial Officer Richard Tame, the company will still be needing to raise more funds. No confirmations if the funds that he stated is before or after the production and launch. The report stated that the company might still be able to keep on track until 2024 despite the global economic situation and Aurora's history, as the company still have enough funds to survive in the industry not unless the costs of the company crosses the line.
Last month, Bloomberg reported a leaked memo from Chief Executive Officer Chris Urmson for the board. It indicates cost-cutting and options for cash-generating, freeze hiring and potential layoffs, turning assets to small capital raise, and plans to be acquired by tech giant companies like Apple and Microsoft. However, these issues were not mentioned during the earnings call.
Commercializing Self-Driving Trucks
The Business Journals reported that Aurora also plans to commercialize autonomous trucks from the company and reassures that they have enough funds for this project to continue by looking to the Q3 2022 report. This plan from the company is expected to start in 2024.
This announcement from Aurora was just days after the shutdown of the operations of its competitors, Argo AI and Mobileye. Argo AI was previously backed by Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG before the two companies announced their withdrawal as the deal does not attract new investors.
Aurora partnered with FedEx, Paccar, Schneider, Werner, and Xpress as they prioritize commercializing autonomous freight. Meanwhile, the company also works with Toyota as the two companies plan to launch a subscription service for the market ride-hailing. During the earnings call, Aurora announced that the partnership between Toyota recognized a revenue worth $3 million.
