Meet the startup that acquired Uber’s self-driving car technology

Aurora Innovation is a company that likes to break barriers in Pittsburgh.

In 2007, one of its founders was part of a winning team for a competition that had autonomous vehicles navigating urban roads. In 2018, Aurora was the first startup to receive authorization from the state’s Department of Transportation to operate autonomous vehicles on public roads.

In 2020, it acquired Uber’s self-driving division — a much higher profile operation that once seemed like the leader to beat.