Self-driving truck startup Aurora Innovation raises $483M in pre-market stock sale

Self-driving technology company Aurora Innovation had hoped to boost tons of of hundreds of thousands in additional capital because it races to bring autonomous vehicles to market by the top of 2024. The company, which had planned to sell as much as $420 million in shares, exceeded its goal and $483 million raised.

The recent funding comes slightly over a yr after Aurora raised $820 million in capital through a public and simultaneous private equity offering.

“This raise is a testament to investor confidence in Aurora’s ability to be a company for the long term. It was inspired by our recent Analyst Day, where investors were able to experience rides in our self-driving trucks, as well as recent milestones that underscore the strength of our partner ecosystem to enable large-scale deployments,” company spokeswoman Rachel Chibidakis told TechCrunch in an email.

Aurora made its public debut in 2021 via a special purpose acquisition merger, and its shares opened at $13.12. Aurora shares closed Friday at $3.84. The stock was up greater than 2% in after-market trading.

Aurora is pursuing a driver-as-a-service model, in which carriers buy trucks with Aurora Driver technology on board after which offer their services through those trucks to shippers. But the corporate plans to enter the market as a carrier, offering as much as 20 autonomous Paccar and Volvo trucks to shippers later this yr.

Aurora on Thursday first disclosed plans to sell as much as $420 million value of Class A typical stock to underwriters Goldman Sachs, Allen & Company and Morgan Stanley, based on SEC filingThursday’s deal comes a day after Aurora filed a prospectus for the sale $350 million value of shares. An individual acquainted with the matter told TechCrunch that as a consequence of strong investor demand, the offering was increased to $420 million.

Aurora expected net proceeds from the sale to be roughly $405 million, or roughly $466 million “if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in their entirety,” after deducting customary offering discounts, commissions and expenses, based on updated notificationThe deal closed Friday afternoon, raising the quantity to $483 million.

Aurora didn’t reply to questions Thursday about the way it intends to make use of the web proceeds. Thursday’s filing provided little guidance, stating vaguely that the corporate would use the cash for “working capital and other general corporate purposes.” The company also said in its filing that it will first invest the proceeds from the offering in “short-term and long-term investment vehicles, certificates of deposit or guaranteed obligations.”

Aurora provided more details after the deal closed on Friday.

“This occasional raise gives us runway through 2026, putting us on track to deploy autonomous trucks at scale and become a cash-flow positive company, which we expect to be in 2028,” Chibidakis said, adding that as the corporate approaches its planned launch, enthusiasm is growing. “Our continued momentum and more favorable market conditions have made this an opportune time to raise additional capital.”

The offer to boost additional funds comes as Aurora reports second-quarter results. As of June 30, 2024, Aurora had $402 million in money and money equivalents and $618 million in short-term investments. Excluding the proceeds from the offering, the corporate expects this to be enough to fund operations through the fourth quarter of 2025.

In the second quarter of 2024, Aurora spent $198 million, which is a direct loss because the startup just isn’t yet generating any revenue.

The company is about to start industrial service on the Uber Freight network later this yr. In June, the 2 corporations announced a multi-year partnership that may see Aurora’s self-driving technology offered on the Uber Freight network by 2030.