Uber Loses Vice President Working On Self-Driving Tech
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One of the main figures behind Uber’s self-driving vehicle development efforts, vice president of global vehicle programs Sherif Marakby, has left Uber, the company revealed on Monday.
The reason for the departure has yet to be revealed by either Marakby or company execs, but presumably it relates in some way to the state of the firm’s self-driving vehicle development program.
As a reminder here, Uber is currently being sued by Waymo/Google in relation to Waymo’s accusations that aspects of it’s self-driving vehicle tech were illegally obtained by Uber. Waymo is also looking to have Uber’s self-driving vehicle testing forcibly halted.
As far as Marakby, it should be remembered that he’s only been with Uber since last April, and seems to have joined entirely to aid the company’s self-driving vehicle tech development. Previously, he was an exec at Ford.
Marakby commented in an emailed statement (as quoted by Reuters): “Self-driving is one of the most interesting challenges I’ve worked on in my career, and I’m grateful to have contributed to what will soon be a safer future for everyone.”
The Reuters coverage provides a bit more: “The departure is the latest of several high-profile exits from the ride-hailing company. Uber has been rocked by a number of setbacks lately, including accusations of sexual harassment from a former female employee and a video showing Chief Executive Travis Kalanick harshly berating an Uber driver.”
In related news, Uber recently revealed new financial information, which showed that Uber is still running in the red, but that revenues continue to climb.
Considering how much of the market Uber has managed to capture, though, the picture shown by the new financial information is more ambiguous than it is negative.
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