Joby Acquires Uber Elevate As Uber Invests Further $75M

Uber and Joby Aviation just announced a deal that included an acquisition, "expanded partnership", and $75 million dollars. Uber will invest "a further $75 million" more than they'd previously invested in the aviation company – they'd previously invested $50 million as part of Joby's Series C financing round in the first month of 2020.

The deal included a $75 million investment from Uber to Joby, but also included an acquisition of Uber Elevate by Joby from Uber. If those two pieces of this deal were the only pieces of the puzzle, this would seem like a .. strange transaction to be sure.

But the deal also includes "an expanded partnership between the two parent companies. This deal between these two companies includes an agreement "to integrate their respective services into each other's apps, enabling seamless integration between ground and air for future customers."

"Advanced air mobility has the potential to be exponentially positive for the environment and future generations," said UBER CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. "This deal allows us to deepen our partnership with Joby, the clear leader in this field, to accelerate the path to market for these technologies. We're excited for their transformational mobility solution to become available to the millions of customers who rely on our platform."

This business announcement joins a very similar announcement made just yesterday. In that deal, Uber effectively traded its autonomous vehicle project for a minority stake in the company Aurora.

Uber delivers prescription drugs in two major US cities as of August of 2020. For food, Uber bought Postmates in July of 2020, and they've got some McRib action in the mix this winter.

Uber also initiated an Uber Pass system where members were given ride discounts and free delivery for meals and groceries. The membership service Uber Pass was made available in the USA for approximately $25 per month.