Anthony Levandowski (at right, with Sean Waters, director of compliance and regulatory affairs for Daimler Trucks North America) during a panel presentation at the American Trucking Associations (ATA) annual convention last year. (Photo by Sean Kilcarr/Fleet Owner)

Technology

OTTO founder steps aside as head of Uber’s self-driving group

April 28, 2017

Ex-employer Google has accused Levandowski of stealing confidential information.

The founder of OTTO, the company behind the autonomous beer delivery in Colorado last year, has stepped aside as head of Uber’s self-driving group while a lawsuit moves forward.

Uber confirmed to media outlets that Anthony Levandowski is taking another position within the company.

Levandowski worked at Google, prior to launching OTTO. Uber then purchased OTTO for $680 million in August and gave Levandowski a leadership role.

Several months after OTTO’s beer run, Waymo, the self-driving car unit spun-off from Google, initiated court action against Uber and Levandowski.

He is accused of stealing confidential documents related to LiDAR, short for 'light detection and ranging,' which are specialized radar sensors that map their surroundings. Eric Meyhofer has been named as Levandowski’s replacement.

At an industry conference last fall, Levandowski presented an ambitious vision for the future, where autonomous trucks allowing for around-the-clock trucking.

About the Author

Neil Abt

Neil Abt, editorial director at Fleet Owner, is a veteran journalist with over 20 years of reporting experience, including 15 years spent covering the trucking industry. A graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., he began his career covering sports for The Washington Post newspaper, followed by a position in the newsroom of America Online (AOL) and then both reporting and leadership roles at Transport Topics. Abt is based out of Portland, Oregon.