What is Aurora?
Self-driving technology company commercializing autonomous trucking.
- Category
- Autonomous vehicles
- Headquarters
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Founded
- 2017
- Employees
- Public company; filings disclose headcount
- Total funding
- Public company capital history
- Status
- NASDAQ: AUR
What is Aurora?
Aurora develops self-driving technology, with the Aurora Driver focused on autonomous trucking and later mobility applications.
Aurora is a public autonomous-vehicle company whose flagship Aurora Driver combines software, hardware, and data services to operate vehicles without a human driver. Its public reporting emphasizes commercial trucking first, with driverless freight lanes and partnerships forming the core of near-term commercialization.
Aurora reported 2025 revenue of about $3M and guided 2026 revenue to $14M-$16M while carrying substantial liquidity for continued commercialization. Because it is public, this profile uses SEC and investor-relations data rather than private funding estimates.
What does Aurora offer?
Aurora offers autonomous-driving technology and freight-focused commercialization programs.
- Aurora Driver· Autonomy platform
- Aurora Horizon· Autonomous trucking
- Driverless freight operations· Commercial service
- Autonomous ride-hailing technology· Mobility
- Mapping and fleet operations· Operations
- Safety case and validation· Compliance
How does Aurora make money?
Aurora is commercializing a Driver-as-a-Service model for autonomous freight, with early revenue still small relative to R&D investment.
Aurora does not sell public per-seat SaaS pricing. Its economics are tied to autonomous freight utilization, carrier and shipper partnerships, fleet scaling, safety validation, hardware integration, and long-term revenue per autonomous mile.
The company reported modest 2025 revenue and gave 2026 revenue guidance, so growth depends on moving from technical milestones to repeatable commercial lanes. Procurement should be viewed as public-company enterprise buying with heavy engineering, safety, fleet, cloud, and operations scrutiny.
Who leads Aurora?
Aurora is led by co-founder and CEO Chris Urmson with a public-company executive team around product, science, finance, and operations.
- Chris UrmsonCo-founder & CEOFounder, since 2017Former leader of Google self-driving efforts and Aurora chief executive.
- Sterling AndersonCo-founder & Chief Product OfficerFounder, since 2017Former Tesla Autopilot leader focused on product and vehicle programs.
- Drew BagnellCo-founder & Chief ScientistFounder, since 2017Robotics and machine-learning leader from Carnegie Mellon/Uber ATG background.
- Richard TameChief Financial OfficerPublic-company CFOFinance leader for Aurora's capital planning and reporting.
How do you contact Aurora's leadership?
Aurora publishes investor and corporate contact channels; personal executive emails are not verified.
Use IR/contact forms; personal executive format not verifiedHow much funding has Aurora raised?
Aurora is public on NASDAQ; before going public, it disclosed a $90M Series A and a $530M+ Series B led by Sequoia, then listed through a 2021 SPAC transaction.
Aurora raised a $90M Series A in 2018 from Greylock and Index Ventures. In 2019, it raised more than $530M in Series B financing led by Sequoia Capital with participation including Amazon and T. Rowe Price, valuing the company at more than $2.5B at that time.
Aurora became public in 2021 through a SPAC combination, so current valuation is best read from public market capitalization rather than private round marks. Public filings and shareholder letters are the authoritative capital and liquidity sources after listing.
How did Aurora get here?
Aurora evolved from a self-driving startup into a public autonomous trucking company.
- 2017FoundedChris Urmson, Sterling Anderson, and Drew Bagnell founded Aurora.
- 2018Series AAurora raised $90M from Greylock and Index Ventures.
- 2019Series BAurora raised more than $530M led by Sequoia, with Amazon and T. Rowe Price participating.
- 2021Public listingAurora became public through a SPAC combination.
- 2025Driverless commercial milestonesAurora reported early commercial revenue and driverless operating milestones.
- 2026Revenue guidanceAurora guided to $14M-$16M in 2026 revenue.
Who are Aurora's competitors?
Aurora competes with autonomous trucking, AV, and vehicle-intelligence companies.
- Kodiak RoboticsAutonomous trucking company focused on freight lanes and defense/off-road expansion.
- WaymoAlphabet-backed AV leader with a larger robotaxi footprint.
- Torc RoboticsDaimler-backed autonomous trucking program.
- WaabiAI-first autonomous trucking startup emphasizing simulation.
- Applied IntuitionVehicle intelligence tooling vendor rather than a freight carrier/operator.
Aurora — frequently asked questions
