Osa Fisher is a highly experienced executive with expertise in the automotive industry. She joins Aurora Innovation as its president, marking the company’s official entry into the self-driving truck market. Fisher’s experience and knowledge will be essential as Aurora Innovation prepares to launch its commercial autonomous vehicle business in 2018.
Fisher, a former executive at education technology company Istation, will join Aurora as its new president and chief operating officer. Fisher’s experience in the field of educational tech should help Aurora as it ramps up its self-driving truck testing operations in the Dallas area.
Aurora Innovation is a company that strives to bring autonomy to all types of vehicles. Their team of veterans from the autonomous vehicle technology world are leading the charge and want to help make transportation easier, safer, and more affordable for everyone.
One of the strengths of Aurora Cannabis Inc.’s founding team may be its balance of technical and commercial experience, in light of the commercial cannabis industry’s continued rapid growth. Drawing on a combined 40 years in business, the trio will provide a levelheaded perspective as the company scales up operations.
Aurora has made headlines in recent months with its announced acquisition of CanniMed Therapeutics Ltd., Canada’s second-largest licensed producer by sales, and its $2 billion investment round led by Jump Capital nabbing participation from Constellation Brands Cos. (STZ) and Canopy Growth Corp.
This hiring is not indicative of Aurora’s true intentions for the commercial launch. The company has been designated as “collaboration revenue” and does not recognize it as a true commercial operation, given that they have yet to sign any contracts with customers. This indicates that Aurora may be postponing their launch in order to focus on developing more fruitful partnerships.
Aurora Innovation plans to use its massive cash reserves to continue developing autonomous vehicle technology, even as it nears a commercial launch. With this projected advantage in resources, Aurora looks poised to dethrone the giants of the automotive industry.
If the company reports earnings in line with expectations, investors could see a modest increase in share prices given that fourth quarter profits have typically been higher than third quarter earnings. However, if significant problems are identified during the fourth quarter, share prices could fall as investors flee the stock.
