Yandex Takes Majority Control of Self-Driving Spinoff in $150 Million Deal
Yandex and Uber spin off their joint self-driving vehicle business into a new entity called Yandex SDG. Yandex invests $150 million to secure a 73% stake in the newly independent autonomous driving company.
Yandex and Uber officially spin off their self-driving vehicle business from their existing ride-hailing and foodtech joint venture to create a new, independent company called Yandex SDG. As part of this restructuring, Yandex invests an additional $150 million into the new entity, with $100 million provided as equity and $50 million as a convertible loan. This financial move allows Yandex to purchase a portion of Uber's stake in the autonomous driving division.
Following the completion of these transactions, Yandex holds a commanding 73% majority ownership of Yandex SDG, while Uber retains a 19% stake. The remaining 8% of the company is reserved specifically for Yandex SDG management and employees. Yandex plans to report the financial results of this new entity under the "Other Bets and Experiments" segment of its corporate earnings.
This strategic restructuring gives Yandex direct control over an autonomous vehicle fleet that currently consists of 130 cars. These self-driving vehicles have already accumulated over four million autonomous miles across public roads in Russia, Israel, and the United States. Additionally, Yandex continues to develop the Yandex.Rover, an autonomous delivery robot designed to automate last-mile package delivery.