5 ms·

I can't imagine what Lewandowski and Uber were thinking here. The timeline is just too constrained to even be taken seriously.

themgt 10y ago
Even at the time, knowing none of the characters or background I found Otto a very odd startup, one I almost didn't believe looked legit, and their rapid acquisition by Uber was one more "huh, strange" moment - how could they have bootstrapped out of nowhere and had tech worth that kind of money so fast? It's almost hard to believe Uber would be so brazen as to put something like this together, except that breaking the law has been Uber's business model since day 1.
- Mango_Diesel 10y ago
  To me it seems like the Uber executives know the music has stopped playing, and are now trying to do anything possible to save the company.
- Eridrus 10y ago
  It doesn't seem that much stranger than the Cruise or Argo; people with real experience are getting snapped up like crazy without a product.
  - alpha_squared 10y ago
    Can't find info on Argo (not looking properly, most likely), but Cruise raised over $18m before being bought (for ???). It looks like a solid effort to launch a product/startup that was snatched up. Otto was ~6 months and bought for $680m. I think there's a pretty large delta of strangeness there.
    - Eridrus 10y ago
      https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/argo-ai#/entity https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/argo-ai#/entity
    - computerphage 10y ago
      Cruise was bought for a billion dollars. Argo got a billion dollar investment.
      - Fricken 10y ago
        Argo isn't really an independent startup, Ford was behind it all along.
        computerphage 10y ago
        Do you have a source for that I could read?
- transfire 10y ago
  > except that breaking the law has been Uber's business model since day 1. So tired of hearing this. It's just parrots talking in the echo chamber. Show me a court verdict that Uber broke the law.
  - bonzini 10y ago
    "Uber, suspension is definitive: service forbidden across all of Italy" http://mobile.ilsole24ore.com/solemobile/main/art/tecnologie/2015-07-09/uberpop-sospensione-e-definitiva-servizio-vietato-tutta-italia-180534.shtml?uuid=ACjtzsO http://mobile.ilsole24ore.com/solemobile/main/art/tecnologie... This is about UberPOP.
  - asimov_ 10y ago
    "Uber will pay as much as $25 million to settle a civil lawsuit with the district attorneys in Los Angeles and San Francisco" https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/08/technology/uber-settles-suit-over-driver-background-checks.html?_r=0 https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/08/technology/uber-settles-s... "Uber settles driver lawsuit over background checks, to pay $7.5 million" http://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-lawsuit-idUSKCN0Z12GS http://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-lawsuit-idUSKCN0Z12GS "Uber has agreed to pay $28.5 million to settle litigation brought by customers who alleged the ride hailing service misrepresented the quality of its safety practices and the fees it charged passengers" http://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-tech-safety-settlement-idUSKCN0VK2J1 http://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-tech-safety-settlemen... Need more?
    - aianus 10y ago
      Settlements are not admissions of guilt.
      - catshirt 10y ago
        if your definition of guilt is "found guilty by a jury"- then sure. but because OP claimed they were "breaking the law", whether or not they were found guilty is irrelevant (by your definition). that is, just because one was not found guilty by deliberation does not mean one didn't break the law.
MaxfordAndSons 10y ago
It's even more incredible given that the target of Uber's corporate espionage efforts... holds a 6% stake in Uber!
Twirrim 10y ago
> Summer 2015 - Anthony Levandowski told Pierre-Yves Droz, a colleague at Waymo, that he had talked with an Uber executive about forming a self-driving car startup and that Uber would be interested in buying that startup. This, particularly, seems absolutely moronic. If you're going to do something shady, don't tell anyone about it.
- londons_explore 10y ago
  You tell the people you hope to poach, especially if you intend to give them equity rather than salary because you're cash-poor because you can't get VC funding.

themgt 10y ago

Even at the time, knowing none of the characters or background I found Otto a very odd startup, one I almost didn't believe looked legit, and their rapid acquisition by Uber was one more "huh, strange" moment - how could they have bootstrapped out of nowhere and had tech worth that kind of money so fast? It's almost hard to believe Uber would be so brazen as to put something like this together, except that breaking the law has been Uber's business model since day 1.

Mango_Diesel 10y ago
To me it seems like the Uber executives know the music has stopped playing, and are now trying to do anything possible to save the company.
Eridrus 10y ago
It doesn't seem that much stranger than the Cruise or Argo; people with real experience are getting snapped up like crazy without a product.
- alpha_squared 10y ago
  Can't find info on Argo (not looking properly, most likely), but Cruise raised over $18m before being bought (for ???). It looks like a solid effort to launch a product/startup that was snatched up. Otto was ~6 months and bought for $680m. I think there's a pretty large delta of strangeness there.
  - Eridrus 10y ago
    https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/argo-ai#/entity https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/argo-ai#/entity
  - computerphage 10y ago
    Cruise was bought for a billion dollars. Argo got a billion dollar investment.
    - Fricken 10y ago
      Argo isn't really an independent startup, Ford was behind it all along.
      - computerphage 10y ago
        Do you have a source for that I could read?
transfire 10y ago
> except that breaking the law has been Uber's business model since day 1. So tired of hearing this. It's just parrots talking in the echo chamber. Show me a court verdict that Uber broke the law.
- bonzini 10y ago
  "Uber, suspension is definitive: service forbidden across all of Italy" http://mobile.ilsole24ore.com/solemobile/main/art/tecnologie/2015-07-09/uberpop-sospensione-e-definitiva-servizio-vietato-tutta-italia-180534.shtml?uuid=ACjtzsO http://mobile.ilsole24ore.com/solemobile/main/art/tecnologie... This is about UberPOP.
- asimov_ 10y ago
  "Uber will pay as much as $25 million to settle a civil lawsuit with the district attorneys in Los Angeles and San Francisco" https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/08/technology/uber-settles-suit-over-driver-background-checks.html?_r=0 https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/08/technology/uber-settles-s... "Uber settles driver lawsuit over background checks, to pay $7.5 million" http://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-lawsuit-idUSKCN0Z12GS http://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-lawsuit-idUSKCN0Z12GS "Uber has agreed to pay $28.5 million to settle litigation brought by customers who alleged the ride hailing service misrepresented the quality of its safety practices and the fees it charged passengers" http://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-tech-safety-settlement-idUSKCN0VK2J1 http://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-tech-safety-settlemen... Need more?
  - aianus 10y ago
    Settlements are not admissions of guilt.
    - catshirt 10y ago
      if your definition of guilt is "found guilty by a jury"- then sure. but because OP claimed they were "breaking the law", whether or not they were found guilty is irrelevant (by your definition). that is, just because one was not found guilty by deliberation does not mean one didn't break the law.

MaxfordAndSons 10y ago

It's even more incredible given that the target of Uber's corporate espionage efforts... holds a 6% stake in Uber!

Twirrim 10y ago

> Summer 2015 - Anthony Levandowski told Pierre-Yves Droz, a colleague at Waymo, that he had talked with an Uber executive about forming a self-driving car startup and that Uber would be interested in buying that startup. This, particularly, seems absolutely moronic. If you're going to do something shady, don't tell anyone about it.

londons_explore 10y ago
You tell the people you hope to poach, especially if you intend to give them equity rather than salary because you're cash-poor because you can't get VC funding.