Travis Kalanick's robotics and industrial AI startup Atoms has hired Gautam Gupta, Uber's former chief financial officer, for the same role, marking the latest reunion between Kalanick and his former Uber colleagues. The appointment comes weeks after Atoms raised $1.7 billion, a round Kalanick described as "unfinished business" continuing the path from Uber through CloudKitchens to Atoms, and follows the startup's earlier acquisition of mining autonomy firm Pronto, run by ex-Uber engineer Anthony Levandowski.

Gupta spent over four years at Uber, leaving in July 2017 shortly after Kalanick's own resignation as CEO amid scandal, and had previously backed the company as a Goldman Sachs vice-president before joining in 2013. He is stepping down from A*, the venture firm he co-founded in 2020, which made its largest-ever fund investment in Atoms; Uber itself also joined the funding round, reportedly contributing around $100 million, though the company has not officially confirmed the figure.