Self-driving tech company says a sale to Apple or Microsoft is possible

Aurora Innovation Inc.'s chief executive officer recently laid out a range of options for the self-driving company to respond to worsening market conditions and partners pushing out timelines, including a possible sale to Apple Inc. or Microsoft Corp., according to a document seen by Bloomberg. Chris Urmson, who co-founded Aurora after running Google's self-driving car project, also outlined cost cuts and floated measures including taking the company private, spinning off or selling assets and pursuing a small capital raise in a memo labeled "board discussion pre-read" dated Aug. 3. Urmson inadvertently sent this to staff and asked them on Aug. 9 not to open it, the document shows. A representative for Aurora confirmed the authenticity of the memo and said the company is considering ways to stay competitive in a challenging marketplace. "Given the current macro conditions, every company should be going through the exercise of evaluating its options and long-term strategy," a company spokesperson said Friday in an email. "We think that thinking through things like this is a positive sign and a mark of good governance."