Aurora Innovations is reportedly currently seeking to offload $420 million worth of shares in the self-driving truck company to generate millions more in funding, just months before launch.
Aurora is adopting a driver-as-a-service approach, where carriers buy trucks equipped with Aurora Driver technology and provide services to shippers using those trucks. However, the company intends to enter the market as a carrier, providing shippers with up to 20 autonomous Paccar and Volvo trucks by the end of the year.
(Photo : Volvo Autonomous Solutions)
The Volvo VNL Autonomous brings together Volvo’s commercial vehicle expertise with industry-leading autonomous driving technology from Aurora Innovation.
According to a filing with the SEC on Thursday morning, Aurora has made arrangements to sell a maximum of $420 million in Class A common stock to underwriters Goldman Sachs, Allen & Company, and Morgan Stanley.
The company went public in 2021 via a special-purpose acquisition merger, and its stock reached a peak of $13.12 on the first day of trading.
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Aurora Innovations' Shares
The underwriters will buy the shares from Aurora at $3.4830 each, just below the public offering price, to account for their fees and compensation. If the sale is finalized on August 2, the shares will be resold to the public at $3.60 each. Aurora's stock price rose by almost 29% to $4.50 after the update.
The agreement was made the day following Aurora's submission of a prospectus to sell $350 million worth of shares. An insider told sources that the amount of the offering was raised to $420 million due to strong interest from investors.
Aurora did not disclose how it plans to use the net proceeds, but the document states that the funds will go towards working capital and other corporate requirements.
In its filing, the company mentioned its intention to use the earnings from this offering for short and long-term investment-grade instruments, certificates of deposit, or guaranteed obligations.
Aurora and Volvo
On May 20, Aurora collaborated with Volvo to unveil an autonomous semi-truck, a significant step forward in the development of future mass production.
The partnership at that moment unveiled Volvo's first self-driving truck that was deemed ready for production, created in collaboration with Aurora, a prominent company in autonomous driving technology established by ex-employees of Google, Uber, and Tesla.
Reports indicate that companies must adopt this strategic approach to recover the significant investments they have made in autonomous vehicle (AV) development.
Production of the trucks will occur at Volvo's biggest facility worldwide, the New River Valley plant in Dublin, Virginia.
Starting in 2018, Volvo, a company accountable for around 10 percent of the global Class 8 trucks, has partnered with Aurora to investigate autonomous trucking options.
This collaboration has included thorough testing of their technology on public streets, resulting in Aurora completing 1.5 million miles of driving on business routes. Aurora aims to achieve ambitious targets for its self-driving truck project by showcasing intentions to launch a group of 20 fully autonomous trucks by the end of this year.
This first launch is a big advancement in the company's goal to innovate the transportation sector with state-of-the-art technology.
In addition, the company intends to expand its services to other businesses down the line. Additionally, Aurora is working with German auto parts provider Continental to carry out a widespread rollout of autonomous trucks by 2027.
