# Why did Aurora buy Uber ATG?; Robotics thriving in Pittsburgh

- Show: [The Robot Report Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast)
- Published: 2020-12-09
- Length: 1h 08m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2020-12-09-why-did-aurora-buy-uber-atg-robotics-thriving-in-pittsburgh
- Listen: https://soundcloud.com/robot-report-podcast/why-did-aurora-buy-uber-atg-robotics-thriving-in-pittsburgh

## Summary

Joel Reed, interim executive director of the Pittsburgh Robotics Network, discusses the growth of the Pittsburgh robotics cluster, its strong ties to Carnegie Mellon University, and the thriving autonomous vehicle ecosystem. The hosts then analyze Aurora Innovation's acquisition of Uber's Advanced Technology Group (ATG), debating the strategic rationale behind the deal given Uber's financial struggles and Aurora's pivot to autonomous trucking. Finally, they cover AutoX's launch of fully driverless robotaxis in Shenzhen and a study on privacy risks associated with robot vacuum LIDAR sensors.

## Chapters

- [0:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2020-12-09-why-did-aurora-buy-uber-atg-robotics-thriving-in-pittsburgh#t=7) Introduction and Gundam Robot
- [1:46](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2020-12-09-why-did-aurora-buy-uber-atg-robotics-thriving-in-pittsburgh#t=106) Pittsburgh Robotics Network Update with Joel Reed
- [6:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2020-12-09-why-did-aurora-buy-uber-atg-robotics-thriving-in-pittsburgh#t=361) Carnegie Mellon and Autonomous Vehicle Ecosystem
- [24:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2020-12-09-why-did-aurora-buy-uber-atg-robotics-thriving-in-pittsburgh#t=1492) Impact of COVID-19 on Robotics Startups
- [30:46](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2020-12-09-why-did-aurora-buy-uber-atg-robotics-thriving-in-pittsburgh#t=1846) Legged Robotics: Boston Dynamics and Agility Robotics
- [40:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2020-12-09-why-did-aurora-buy-uber-atg-robotics-thriving-in-pittsburgh#t=2448) Aurora's Acquisition of Uber ATG
- [57:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2020-12-09-why-did-aurora-buy-uber-atg-robotics-thriving-in-pittsburgh#t=3470) AutoX Driverless Robotaxis in Shenzhen
- [1:01:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2020-12-09-why-did-aurora-buy-uber-atg-robotics-thriving-in-pittsburgh#t=3714) Privacy Risks of Robot Vacuum LIDAR

## Topics

- [Growth, exits & acquisitions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/growth-exits-and-acquisitions)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Security & privacy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/security-and-privacy)
- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up, large enterprises

## Mentioned

- Aurora Innovation (company)
- Uber (company)
- Advanced Technology Group (product)
- Pittsburgh Robotics Network (company)
- Carnegie Mellon University (company)
- Boston Dynamics (company)
- Agility Robotics (company)
- AutoX (company)
- Waymo (company)
- Argo AI (company)
- Cruise (company)
- Tesla (company)
- iRobot (company)
- Spot (product)
- Digit (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [When trucks drive themselves with Chris Urmson of Aurora](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-07-20-when-trucks-drive-themselves-with-chris-urmson-of-aurora) (How I Built This)
- [HIBT Lab! Cruise: Kyle Vogt](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2022-10-27-hibt-lab-cruise-kyle-vogt) (How I Built This)
- [The Blueprint for Scaling: Google’s A2A protocol, GPT-4.1, Memes and more](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-04-30-the-blueprint-for-scaling-googles-a2a-protocol-gpt-4-1-memes-and-more) (Built 2 Scale)
- [249: Why Pittsburgh has been Successful Commercializing Robotics with Jennifer Apicella, Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Robotics Network](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-08-12-249-why-pittsburgh-has-been-successful-commercializing-robotics-with-jennifer-ap) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [OpenAI's SORA 2 Drops + WE CALLED THE BUBBLE TOP + Shopping Agents Win](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-10-03-openais-sora-2-drops-we-called-the-bubble-top-shopping-agents-win) (Built 2 Scale)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2020-12-09-why-did-aurora-buy-uber-atg-robotics-thriving-in-pittsburgh. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to The Robot Report Podcast.