Uber founder Travis Kalanick has launched Atoms, a new robotics company focused on food, mining, and transportation industries, rolling his existing ghost kitchen company CloudKitchens into the venture. The company plans to build a 'wheelbase for robots' for specialized industrial applications rather than humanoids, and Kalanick is acquiring autonomous vehicle startup Pronto from former Uber colleague Anthony Levandowski to support mining operations. Kalanick reportedly told investors he wants to be more aggressive in rolling out self-driving technology than Waymo. This marks Kalanick's return to autonomous vehicle development after Uber sold its self-driving division in 2020.