Joby Aviation Acquires Uber's Elevate Electric Air Taxi Business

Uber Technologies will sell another subsidiary.

The company said it had reached an agreement to sell Uber Elevate air taxis to California-based technology startup Joby Aviation.

Uber said Wednesday its air taxi business will be consolidated with Joby Aviation - which is currently developing an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.

Under the agreement, Joby will use Uber's existing ride-hailing mobile app to offer customers air taxi rides. Joby expects its aircraft to enter commercial service by 2023 after it receives regulatory certifications.

"We were proud to partner with Uber Elevate last year and we're even prouder to be welcoming them into the Joby team," Joby's chief executive officer founder and chief executive JoeBen Bevirt said in the statement.

Joby said the acquisition should fast-track its plans to provide short flights in cities areas across the country. Bevirt said the tools and team members from Uber should prove "invaluable" in accelerating its commercial launch plans.

The exact terms of the deal were not disclosed but Uber confirmed it would invest up to $75 million in Joby. Uber is already an investor.

Uber said that the divestment of Uber Elevate and its Advanced Technologies Group autonomous driving business should allow it to focus on its core business and save hundreds of millions of dollars over the next several years.

Earlier in the week, Uber announced that it had agreed to sell its autonomous driving unit to Aurora. Uber's chief executive officer Dara Khosrowshahi said Aurora was the perfect buyer because it "knows exactly what to build, what are the routes, and what are the skills" needed to accomplish its tasks.