Uber considers minority stake sell-off for self-driving unit

Uber is reportedly considering multiple offers for minority shareholdings in its self-driving unit, as the company attempts to resolve any high-cost ventures before it goes public next year.

Sources told the Financial Times that Uber had received interest from several investors looking to buy a minority stake in its Advanced Technologies Group (ATG), which could see the division spun off into a separate business with its own valuation and separate equity.

If such a process were to go ahead, Uber would retain operational control and majority ownership of ATG while other external shareholders would shoulder some of the cost of developing and commercialising its driverless technology.

The news follows a $500m (£380.7m) investment into Uber's self-driving future by Toyota in August, which the company said was part of a strategy to bring to market "autonomous ride-sharing as a mobility service at scale".

Read more: Toyota invests $500m in Uber to propel self-driving cars into reality

Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi denied any plans to sell ATG "at this time" in an interview with Reuters last month.

Today, an Uber spokesperson would only add: "Our team at the Advanced Technologies Group is wholly focused on building the safest self-driving technology out there, and we remain committed to supporting their efforts to make this self-driving future a reality."

Uber is currently on an internal deadline to launch an initial public offering in 2019, or transfer restrictions will lift on shares that could cause mass-trading of Uber stock.

Several US banks yesterday valued a public Uber at $120bn, according to the Wall Street Journal, putting the tech giant's potential future market cap miles ahead of its current valuation of $76bn.

Read more: Uber's IPO could value it at double Tesla's market cap