Uber’s fraught and deadly pursuit of self-driving cars is over

 Uber is selling its autonomous vehicle business to Aurora Innovations, a San Francisco-based startup founded by the former head engineer of Google’s self-driving car project, the two companies announced Monday.

As part of the deal, Aurora’s self-driving cars will eventually operate on Uber’s ride-hailing platform. Uber will invest $400 million in Aurora and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will join the startup’s board of directors.

It’s unclear whether the acquisition will result in any layoffs. “Aurora has committed to making offers to the majority of ATG employees,” an Uber spokesperson said. “We are working through the details with Aurora and will notify our teams in the coming weeks.”

The deal marks the end of Uber’s ambitious dream of replacing it’s fleet of human-powered taxis with robot drivers. The ride-hailing company believed that by pouring millions of dollars into developing its own technology, it could eliminate its main cost factor — drivers — and take over the world of transportation with cheap, plentiful autonomous vehicles.

<source:https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/7/22158745/uber-selling-autonomous-vehicle-business-aurora-innovation>

It seems that autonomous driving technology is not easy.
Tesla is a really great businessman.

자율 주행 기술이 쉽지는 않은 듯 하다.

테슬라가 정말 대단한 기업인 것이다. 

China's exports surge on hot demand for PPE(personal protective equipment), remote working tech

 China’s exports rose at the fastest pace in almost three years in November, as strong global demand for goods needed to ride out the pandemic landed the world’s second-largest economy a record trade surplus.

A brisk factory recovery in China from coronavirus shutdowns earlier this year has far outpaced reopenings seen in major trading partners, many of which are still struggling with outbreaks.

Exports in November rose 21.1% from a year earlier, customs data showed on Monday, the fastest growth since February 2018. It also soundly beat analysts’ expectations for a 12.0% increase and quickened from an 11.4% increase in October.

The strong exports come despite the yuan hovering near multi-year peaks against the dollar, which would be welcome news for policymakers concerned about the impact of a weakening greenback on China’s trade competitiveness.

Imports rose 4.5% year-on-year in November, slower than October’s 4.7% growth, and underperforming expectations in a Reuters poll for a 6.1% increase, but still marking a third straight month of expansion.

Analysts say improving domestic demand and higher commodity prices helped buoy the reading.

“We believe China’s export growth could remain elevated for another several months due to the worsening COVID-19 situation overseas,” the note said.

<source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-trade/chinas-exports-surge-on-hot-demand-for-ppe-remote-working-tech-idUSKBN28H07K>

“We believe China’s export growth could remain elevated for another several months due to the worsening COVID-19 situation overseas,”Look at the indicators. Think. Predict. Make your move.

해외 COVID-19 상황 악화로 중국의 수출 증가율이 몇 달 더 상승할 수 있을 것으로 본다. 지표를 보아라. 생각하라. 예측하라. 행동하라. 

Airbnb plans to raise price target range for IPO

 Dec 6 (Reuters) - Airbnb Inc ABNB.O has plans to raise the target price range for its initial public offering (IPO) to between $56 and $60 per share, underscoring demand for new U.S. stocks, a person familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

The U.S. home rental firm had on Tuesday set a price range for its IPO to sell shares at $44 and $50 apiece.

Airbnb could communicate the upwardly revised price range to investors in a public filing on Monday, the source added, requesting anonymity as the plans are private.

At the upper end of the new range, Airbnb would sell $3.1 billion in stock and have a fully diluted valuation, which includes securities such as options and restricted stock units, of $41.8 billion.

This is well above the $18 billion Airbnb was worth in an April private fundraising round in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, and above the $31 billion in its last pre-COVID-19 fundraising in 2017.

Airbnb's stock market debut, slated for Dec. 10 on Nasdaq, will be one of the largest and most anticipated U.S. IPOs of 2020, which has already been a bumper year for flotations.

<source:https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/airbnb-plans-to-raise-price-target-range-for-ipo-source-2020-12-06>

Despite Corona 19, sharing companies have been on a roll. Airbnb also succeeded in turning into a surplus.
Companies with platforms have more power than you think.

코로나 19에도 불구하고 공유업체들은 승승장구하고 있다. 에어비앤비 또한 흑자 전환에 성공했다. 

플랫폼을 가진 기업은 생각보다 막강한 힘을 가지고 있다.