Atoms CFO hire: Kalanick reunites Uber alumni at robotics startup
Original: Travis Kalanick’s robotics startup Atoms taps former Uber finance chief as CFO
Why This Matters
Atoms' rapid executive build-out and $1.7B raise signal serious scaling ambitions across industrial robotics and AI.
Travis Kalanick's robotics and industrial AI startup Atoms has appointed Gautam Gupta, former Uber CFO, as its new chief financial officer. The hire comes weeks after Atoms closed a $1.7 billion funding round, with Uber itself contributing a confirmed $100 million as an investor.
Gautam Gupta, who served as Uber's finance chief under Travis Kalanick until July 2017, announced via social media on Wednesday that he has joined Atoms as CFO. He will step down from A*, the venture capital firm he co-founded in 2020, to take the role. A* made its "largest investment in the history of our fund" in Atoms' recent $1.7 billion round.
The appointment continues what Kalanick has described as reassembling former Uber talent at Atoms — previously known as CloudKitchens. Earlier this year, Atoms acquired mining autonomy startup Pronto, led by former Uber and Google self-driving engineer Anthony Levandowski. LinkedIn data indicates multiple senior former Uber employees now work at Atoms.
Uber itself joined the $1.7 billion round as an investor — contributing $100 million, a figure confirmed by TechCrunch — marking a notable reunion with the founder it ousted in 2017 amid scandals involving sexual harassment and discrimination. Kalanick has stated Atoms will focus on mining, food, and transportation. Gupta first invested in Uber in 2012 while at Goldman Sachs before joining the company in 2013.