Amazon and Toyota each hold significant stakes in self-driving vehicle startup Aurora Innovation Inc., evidence that interest in autonomous vehicles isn’t fading even as the sector has struggled to find the best commercial use for its innovations.
Strip District-based Aurora has been pushing ahead in the trucking sector and recently tapped a new president who will work in Texas, where it is piloting deliveries for customers there.
Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Corp. currently holds about 47.6 million shares, or 6.4%, of Class A Common Stock in Aurora, according to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Seattle-based online retailer Amazon Inc., which also has its own self-driving vehicle operation underway, holds about 35.2 million shares or 4.5% of Class B Common Stock, according to a separate SEC filing.