Atoms, a startup led by Uber Technologies Inc. co-founder Travis Kalanick, has closed a $1.7 billion investment.

The company disclosed in its Wednesday funding announcement that Andreessen Horowitz led the raise. The venture capital firm was joined by more than a half-dozen others, including Uber. Additionally, Atoms has raised an unspecified amount of debt financing from a group of banks.

Atoms develops technologies that automate manual work in the restaurant, mining and transportation sectors. The company comprises seven business units that operate under separate brands. Most of those subsidiaries were originally part of City Storage Systems Inc., a startup that Kalanick founded in 2016. It became part of Atoms earlier this year.

City Storage Systems’ flagship asset was a business unit called CloudKitchens. The business, which is now one of Atoms’ seven subsidiaries, operates so-called ghost kitchens in dozens of U.S. cities. Restaurant operators use the facilities to process food delivery orders. Each CloudKitchens building contains more than 20 kitchens along with logistics infrastructure designed to expedite deliveries.  

A second Atoms unit called Lab37 sells a kitchen automation system dubbed the Bowl Builder. It uses 18 ingredient dispensers, sensors and a steam generator to prepare food bowls. The 19-foot-long machine can also automate some of the subsequent food packaging tasks. Like CloudKitchens, Lab37 was originally part of City Storage Systems.

Another Atoms unit, ProFood, develops food production facilities. Two other subsidiaries called Otter and Picnic provide restaurant management software and office launch deliveries, respectively. 

In March, Atoms moved into the mining sector with the acquisition of a startup called Pronto AI Inc. The deal bought it an autonomous driving system that combines chips, sensors and a GPS module in a ruggedized case. The device enables trucks to navigate mines without human input.

Atoms’ website indicates that one of its business units is developing products for the broader transportation market. However, the company hasn’t yet divulged information about the technology. One way Atoms could expand into other transportation segments is by bringing Pronto’s truck autonomy system to more vehicle types. 

Kalanick hinted in a blog post that the company plans to broaden its focus to additional industrial sectors over time.  

“Uber was first. Network for the physical world. Digitized transportation for the masses. CloudKitchens was next,” Kalanick wrote. “But what about an OEM that builds atoms-based computers for all the major industrial sectors?  We just launched that company.”

Atoms didn’t specify how it plans to use its funding round. Kalanick’s blog post indicated that the company’s automation products will use artificial intelligence, which means some of the capital could go toward model training. 

Photo: Pronto