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Another Uber executive, Danny Guo, to depart
The 12-year engineering veteran oversees teams tied to robotaxis, Uber One and delivery services
Uber signage on a vehicle in San Francisco. Many executives have been leaving the company recently. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)
Key Takeaways:
- Uber engineering and science Vice President Danny Guo will leave Nov. 16 after nearly 12 years with the company.
- Guo oversees autonomous initiatives, Uber One and delivery infrastructure amid several recent executive departures and a planned 10% workforce reduction.
- Many leaders under Guo will report to Chief Technology Officer Praveen Neppalli Naga after Guo departs for a role outside transportation.
A longtime Uber Technologies Inc. executive leading engineering efforts for robotaxi partnerships and core services for maps and memberships is leaving, adding to a string of recent executive departures at the ride-hailing giant.
Danny Guo, who reports to Chief Technology Officer Praveen Neppalli Naga as the vice president of engineering and science, will step down Nov. 16, according to an email sent to employees Nov. 9. He will be taking a role outside the transportation industry, an Uber spokesperson said in response to a Bloomberg News inquiry. Guo did not respond to a request for comment.
Guo, who has been with Uber for nearly 12 years, oversees engineering and science functions across several key businesses, including autonomous initiatives, the Uber One subscription program and the back-end network for deliveries, according to his Linkedin profile. Many of the leaders under each of those teams will now report to Naga, the spokesperson said.
Guo is the latest company veteran to depart in recent months for opportunities elsewhere. Last week, OpenAI announced that it hired Jill Hazelbaker, Uber’s president and longtime communications executive, as its corporate affairs chief.
Some of the high-profile departures have been at the company’s autonomous vehicle division: Sarfraz Maredia, Uber’s global head of autonomous mobility and delivery, is also set to leave next week, Bloomberg reported last month. The unit’s head of business development for autonomous partnerships and head of legal also left in recent months.
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The company has seen major organizational upheaval after it announced plans to cut 10% of the entire workforce in September, aimed at reducing bureaucracy.
Uber last week reported third-quarter earnings that met expectations, with ride-hailing and delivery bookings sustaining 20% growth for a fifth quarter row. But investors have expressed concerns as autonomous vehicles have become commonplace, which they worry might threaten Uber’s pioneering business. The company’s stock has fallen 13% this year through the close of Nov. 9.
The company has said it will commit more than $10 billion to its robotaxi partnerships with other technology developers over the coming years rather than building its own autonomous vehicle. But it has a ways to go to catch up with Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo, which it regards as both a partner and a competitor. Uber said it hopes to have more than 2,000 driverless taxis available for customers in 2027, trailing the 4,000 vehicles that Waymo has across the U.S. today.
