Autonomous vehicle company Aurora is now a publicly traded company

Aurora, the startup that was founded by the former head of Google's self-driving car project, has officially begun trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol "AUR." It's a significant milestone for the AV industry, which has struggled with overinflated expectations, missed deadlines, shuttered businesses, and a host of technological challenges. Last summer, Aurora announced that it would go public through a reverse merger with a special acquisition company, or SPAC, called Reinvent Technology Partners Y. Upon closing this deal, Aurora said it has $1.8 billion in "gross proceeds and cash in hand," which will help its quest to become a provider of self-driving hardware and software to companies in the trucking and ride-hailing industries. "This is a thrilling moment," said Chris Urmson, co-founder and CEO of Aurora, at an event celebrating the company's public listing. We're working to launch an incredible product in trucking.