Uber Acquires Self-driving Truck Startup, Partners With Volvo On Self-driving Cars

Uber Technologies Inc. said Thursday that it had acquired Otto, a self-driving truck startup and that Otto's co-founder, Anthony Levandowski, would lead Uber's self-driving efforts. In a blog post Thursday, Travis Kalanick, chief executive of Uber, said Levandowski would report to him and lead the company's self-driving work in San Francisco, Palo Alto and Pittsburgh. Uber also said Thursday that it was partnering with Volvo [SE: VOLVA] [SE: VOLVB] to develop self-driving technology. "Volvo has consistently been a leader when it comes to safety," Kalanick wrote. "And partnership is crucial to our self-driving strategy because Uber has no experience making cars."