Woofun AI reports that Atoms, the robotics venture established by Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick, has finalized a $1.7 billion financing round. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) led the transaction, with Ben Horowitz taking a seat on the company's board of directors.

The equity investor group comprises Bain Capital, Fifth Wall, Chemistry, A, K5 Global, Abstract, SV Angel, Alpha Square Group, and Uber. Horowitz emphasized a strategic focus on specialized robots for heavy industry applications, asserting they are more effective for most tasks than humanoid alternatives.